Irresistible
by Wishing-for-a-Zoro-plushie
Summary: AU ZoLu Cheeky Monkey D Luffy meets grouchy Roronoa Zoro, what more can I say without giving the whole shebang away? On Hold!
1. Chapter 1

**Before I start I have the disclaimer which is, I don't own anything except giant chickens XP and that this is a joint fic between myself and Shiruji chan, who by the way comes up with most of the dialogue, I just do her bidding, I mean I just write the story to what she wants XP. So, anyways, hope you all enjoy!**

_**Irresistible**_

**Chapter 1**

Roronoa Zoro walked down the hallway of East Blue high school and stopped outside the library. He looked up at the sign above the door that said 'Quiet Please' and brushed a hand through his sea foam green hair.

"Man, I really don't want to go in there. It's so quiet, and stupid, and there's no place to sleep, and it's just… stupid." he rubbed the top of his head and then let his hand fall to his side as he glared at the library door. Sanji shoved him from behind, nearly pushing him into said door.

"Will you stop whinging and walk in for Christ's sake. You're giving me a headache." The blonde said placing a hand to his hair as if to emphasize the point.

"Shut up you shitty cook." Zoro replied. Sanji was an apprentice chef at the Baratie restaurant on weekends and so Zoro took it upon himself to make sure the blonde didn't get to much of an inflated ego, although that would be kind of hard to do, seeing as the blonde already _did _have an over inflated ego anyway.

Zoro sighed and pushed open the door, walking inside and making sure to glare at anything or anyone that dared to be in his way, or even look his way. Sanji followed until he spotted Nami sitting alone at a table by the window.

He fluttered off to talk with her, arms and legs waving as he did his famed noodle dance. Zoro rolled his eyes and walked towards the bookshelves, searching for the book he was supposed to get for his next assignment.

"I really hate this place." He muttered.

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Monkey D Luffy was never one for being quiet, and just because there was a sign on the door of a library that said 'Quiet Please', that wasn't going to stop him from being himself. The young boy skipped down the hall, black hair bouncing almost as merrily as the boy was humming.

"It's a new world, it's a new start…" he sang and then shoved open the door to the library, arms spread wide. "HERE I AM!" he shouted, large grin in place. The librarian looked up sharply, her tiny glasses slipping to the end of her nose.

"Shh." she said holding a finger to her lips. Luffy rubbed the back of his head nervously and grinned rather sheepishly.

"Oops." he said and gave a little laugh. A long nosed, curly haired boy who was sitting at a table not far from Nami and Sanji, sighed as he saw his friend and went back to the book he was reading. Luffy, regardless of the librarian's warning, waved happily as he spotted Usopp.

"Usopp!" he called and ran over before the librarian could shush him again. Usopp looked up with a smile.

"Heya Luffy." Usopp said, his voice considerably quieter than Luffy's. Luffy didn't get the hint.

"Whatcha readin'?" Luffy asked, his voice still loud. Usopp smiled and shook his head.

"Boring stuff Luffy, you wouldn't get it." Usopp muttered before looking back down at the large book again. Luffy pouted a moment and then shrugged and dropped his bag on the table.

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Sanji watched Nami carefully as she pored over a book, pencil tapping against the notepad as she read.

"Ah, Nami is so beautiful when she is reading… what are you reading Nami?" Sanji asked. Nami looked up.

"I'm studying for a test. Don't you remember the history test we have next Tuesday?" Nami asked. Sanji thought for a moment and then he stiffened.

"Test? What test? Oh, wait, I studied last night." Sanji panicked and then calmed down, settling his head back on his hand, elbow resting on the desktop. Nami sighed irritably and went back to her book.

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Zoro read the spines of many books, his mood not improving as the book he was looking for continued to elude him.

"Hello!" a voice suddenly yelled beside him. Zoro jumped and looked around to see a black haired boy grinning widely up at him. Zoro scowled. "Need any help?"

"I should ask you the same thing." Zoro responded sarcastically. The boy tilted his head.

"Why would I need help?" the boy asked in return.

_Okay, this kid doesn't get sarcasm. _Zoro thought and then walked pointedly away from the boy, hoping he'd catch the hint that he didn't want to talk to him, and would leave. The boy didn't catch the hint. Instead, he followed Zoro eagerly.

"You look kinda lost, are you sure you don't need any help?" the boy asked. Zoro growled. He really wished this kid would bugger off.

"No. I'm fine thanks." Zoro responded.

"Well…" Luffy muttered as he pulled out a tattered old red book and began flipping through it. "if you're sure." Zoro peered at the book in the boy's hand and noticed that it was in fact the one he was looking for. He reached out a hand for it and the boy handed it over.

"I'm sure." and Zoro walked back towards the librarian. Luffy watched him go, unaware that he had just been rebuffed and then saw Nami.

"NAMI!" he yelped and ran over.

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Nami got up from her table and closed the book.

"Five minutes until class Sanji. We had better go." she said glancing at her watch. Usopp wandered over, carrying Luffy's bag in his hand.

"Whatever you say my lovely Nami." Sanji responded as he got up.

"Hey Usopp. Is Luffy here too?" she asked interestedly. Usopp nodded and pointed towards the bookshelves where Luffy was now running at top speed towards them. He skidded to a stop in front of the three and grinned.

"HIIII!" he cried and then took his bag from Usopp. Nami shook her head and smiled.

"Hi Luffy. You and Usopp had better hurry, or you'll be late for class." she said. Usopp sighed. Luffy nodded.

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Zoro looked over from where he was checking his book out. His eyes narrowed when he saw the black haired boy talking with Nami as the four walked towards the exit.

_Damn kid knows Nami as well. Greeeat. _Zoro thought before resignedly walking back over as Sanji yelled something about being late.

"Hiya cool weird haired guy!" the boy called. Zoro lagged behind and so Luffy shrugged, and just ignored him.

"Hurry up Zoro, if I'm late for my next class because of you, I am going to charge you fifty bucks for every minute I have to do a detention." Nami said sourly. Zoro ignored her.

"Ah, my Nami is so sweet when she is roughing people up for money." Sanji cooed.

"You call that sweet?" Usopp asked and then shivered. Luffy stopped for a second and everyone turned to look at him.

"Yes, my Nami is always sweet!" Sanji cried before turning to look at Luffy as well.

"Where's Chopper?" he asked. Usopp looked around. Zoro raised an eyebrow, his curiosity momentarily getting the better of him.

"Who's Chopper?" he inquired. Luffy paused in his searching of the floor to look at Zoro.

"Huh? Oh he's my cat." and Luffy grinned. "He has a blue nose, so he gets a bit beat up around where I live so I take him with me to school." Luffy finished with an even larger smile.

"Hmm, now where did he go?" Nami sighed, her books held close to her chest.

"I've told you before Luffy, you shouldn't bring him in here. The school will find out about it and then you will be in trouble." she explained, actually sounding a little worried. Luffy pouted.

"It's better than Chopper getting beat up." and Luffy gave her a big cheesy grin as he waved a hand at her unconcernedly. "besides, the teachers'll never notice." Zoro, who had been momentarily stunned, suddenly came back to life.

"Wait… he's a cat? And you brought him to school? You're dumber than I thought." Zoro muttered.

"Zoro, be nice you moron. Besides, if he's dumb, then that must make you downright friggin' stupid." Sanji said with a taunting smile. Zoro glared.

"Bastard." and he trailed off into a string of curses.

"Well, it's not like I'm gonna let him get beaten up by a bunch of bullies." Luffy looked down as there was a sudden meow at his feet. A small, mouse brown kitten looked back up at him, tail wrapping itself around his leg and little blue nose twitching underneath warm chocolate eyes.

"Ohh, there's my Chopper!" Luffy cooed and bent down to pick up the cat and pet him, cuddling the little cat close to his chest. Nami glanced at her watch again.

"Anyway, Luffy, off to class!" she said suddenly. Luffy stiffened.

"Oh yeah!" and he gently placed Chopper inside his bag and skipped hurriedly away. Usopp sighed, waved a hand to say goodbye, and then followed Luffy to their class. Zoro sighed.

"Thank god he's gone." he said.

"You know, you're very grumpy today." Sanji commented as they walked.

"And I'll be even grumpier if I get another detention, so hurry up bastard!" Zoro snapped.

"Ooh, touchy today aren't we?" Sanji mocked.

"Just walk you asshole." Zoro muttered. While the two were arguing, Nami placed her books in her locker, and then disappeared, leaving the two older men to continue their argument as they walked to class.

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Luffy looked over and nudged Usopp in their classroom.

"Hey, what class have we got now?" he asked. Usopp nodded his head towards Nico Robin standing beside her desk, hoping Luffy would get it, but Luffy being Luffy, just stared straight back, as blank as a brick wall.

"History." Usopp sighed.

"Cool!" Luffy cried and grinned. Usopp twitched and placed a hand to his head.

"Okay class. Today we're going to learn about the immigration in America. Can anyone tell me why so many people travelled to America?" Robin asked.

"Because there… was a big treasure buried there!" Luffy cried without bothering to put up his hand. "And the pirates wanted it!" Robin smiled, but ignored the obviously wrong answer.

"Anyone else?" she asked.

"Because they were being chased by the evil blue tortoise!" Usopp called, also not bothering to put up his hand. Robin twitched and shook her head, finally giving in and telling the class the correct answer. Luffy began writing it down and then jumped as Chopper meowed loudly from the bag on the floor beside his desk. Luffy quickly ducked down, sticking his head in the bag.

"Oi Chopper. Shh, it's okay." Luffy whispered and then popped back up again. Robin watched him for a moment and then smiled, turning away and choosing to ignore the incident. Usopp shivered and leaned over to Luffy.

"Luffy, you shouldn't bring that thing to school." he whispered, rather scared.

"It's okay. Robin never notices!" Luffy replied brightly. Usopp sighed and shook his head.

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Sanji shoved Zoro into a seat and then sat down beside him, placing his bag on the floor.

"Bastard." Sanji muttered. The teacher twitched but she ignored it.

"Asshole." Zoro replied as he dug a book from his bag.

"Marimo head." Sanji responded as he pulled out a pen.

"Shitty cook." Zoro snapped, testing a pen on the paper by scribbling at the top of the page. That was it for the teacher. She spun around and glared at the two boys.

"Quiet down you two! Now class, open your books at chapter 4." she said sweetly and then scowled.

"Bastard." the two said together and then glared at each other. The teacher sighed in defeat before turning back to the board.

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Luffy and Usopp gathered their books, shoved them in their bags, Luffy a little less violently to avoid hurting Chopper and then walked out of the classroom as the bell rang. Luffy chuckled.

"That was fun." he said. Usopp shivers.

"Damn, you could have kept Chopper still. He meowed all the time and the only one that didn't notice was you!" Usopp cried still so scared after the class that he was shaking. Luffy crossed his arms behind his head as he walked and grinned.

"Robin didn't notice." he said smugly. Usopp shook his head, obviously still thinking the older woman had.

"Whatever." he replied, not really willing to start another argument.

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Nami walked up to her locker and kneeled down on the floor, and began placing her things inside, packing up for the day. She sighed and looked around as two figures worked their way through the crowd towards her.

"Bastard." Zoro snapped.

"Asshole." Sanji replied.

"Magic eyebrow."

"Marimo." Sanji returned and Zoro was about to come back with a particularly good name he had just thought up when a loud meow made them look around.

"Damnit. Is that kid back again?" Zoro asked grumpily and began to mutter incoherent curses which everyone promptly ignored.

Luffy jumped as Chopper meowed and pulled the bag off his shoulder.

"Sorry. There ya go bud." he said as he pulled the cat from the bag and placed him on the floor at his feet. Luffy giggled and then looked up as Nami strolled over to lean down and stroke the cat.

"All done for the day?" she asked after giving Chopper a scratch under the chin. Usopp shrugged.

"It's a miracle how the teacher doesn't notice the cat with him." he said. Nami furrowed her eyebrows delicately.

"Wanna bet Usopp?" she asked. Usopp looked up as he pushed his hair back into the bandana that was tied around his head.

"What?"

"I bet that in a week the teachers will have noticed." Nami said smiling cheekily.

"If you saw how Robin acts then you wouldn't say that." Usopp returned, ignoring the cheeky smile the woman was wearing.

"Okay! Twenty bucks says I'm right." Nami bet. Usopp sighed.

"…Oh god, what have I gotten myself messed up in?" he muttered. Luffy, who had been grinning down at the cat winding it's way around his legs, looked up at the sound of scuffing feet. His grin brightened as he saw the man from the library.

"Oh! HIA COOL WEIRD GUY!" Luffy cried at the top of his lungs, waving his long arm like a windmill. Zoro tensed and then turned away, muttering something to Sanji about going to his locker before walking away. Sanji sneered.

"Wimp!" he yelled after the retreating back of his friend, or more likely, fellow senior. Luffy scratched his head and then pouted.

"Awwww, he left." Luffy whined. Usopp looked at him.

"That guy is scary Luffy. You're better off not knowing him." Usopp muttered before shivering.

"What? Did you say something?" Luffy said before grinning and running off to stalk the elusive weird cool guy. Usopp shook his head and turned to the locker.

"Hi locker, how are you today?" he asked sarcastically. Nami smirked as she watched Luffy run after Zoro, keeping low like some kind of ninja, but actually looking like anything but.

"Nami, might I ask what you are smirking about?" Sanji asked.

"The fact that Luffy has chosen Zoro of all people to stalk…and that I'm gonna be twenty bucks richer." Nami replied as she pulled her bag onto her back. Usopp's head snapped around.

"Oi!" he said loudly. Nami turned and winked dangerously at Usopp before walking towards the exit to the school.

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Zoro stopped by his locker and opened it.

"Damned Maths test on Monday, so I need that one…" and he muttered about other subjects as he pulled out more text books and shoved them roughly into his bag. "Okay… time to go home." and he smiled as he shut his locker. Luffy, who was watching from the corner frowned. Luffy doesn't like being ignored and with a quick jump he landed beside Zoro.

"HELLO!" he shouted grinning widely. Zoro jumped and swore before turning to the grinning kid and scowling.

"What the hell is your problem kid? Why the hell won't you leave me alone?" Zoro demanded furiously. Chopper, who had finally caught up to his master, gave a loud meow. Luffy shrugged as he gave the green haired man a cheesy grin.

"Just because." he replied.

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"Namiiiii, tell me your plan! I know you have one!" Sanji cooed as he walked beside the orange haired woman. Nami smiled mysteriously, giving a Sanji a sly wink before saying,

"Ah, we'll see how this plays out first." Usopp followed her as they walked past where Zoro and Luffy were standing. Luffy picked Chopper up and began to pet him.

"Of course my precious Nami, what would you like for dinner tonight?" Sanji replied as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

"Oi Luffy, are you planning to stay here or what?" Usopp called. Luffy looked over and Zoro looked over as well, causing the long nose to quiver.

"Whaaa? Of course not!" Luffy called back before turning back to Zoro expectantly. He pulled his bag over his shoulder, rather clumsily as he had a cat to hold at the same time. Zoro sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingertips.

"Just because. Can I bash my head against a wall just because? Or maybe I could run over myself with my motorbike." he muttered. Without looking back at the boy, he began to walk towards the exit, his shirt coming untucked as he did so.

"I gotta get some sleep. I'm turning into a loony." he muttered, Luffy not in hearing range. He was watching Chopper as the cat purred happily under the warm hand stroking his back. He looked up and noticed Zoro was gone and ran after him. Luffy caught up and walked side by side with the taller man.

"No. Then you would die… and that'd be a shame." he said happily. Zoro paused a moment to look down at the boy, slightly shocked by the boy's thinking and then he scowled again.

"You're not going to leave me alone are you?" he asked.

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Sanji hovered around Nami as she thought of what she would like.

"What ever you feel like making Sanji." she replied finally. Sanji paused and then he jumped a little, doing a little skip beside her.

"Ah, my Nami has faith in my decisions." he cooed. "It will be a surprise!"

"Very well." Nami sighed.

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Luffy ran his hand over Chopper again, holding the cat close to his chest and then cuddling him and smiling.

"Nope." he replied. They managed to reach the exit at the exact same time and Sanji's hearts and bubbles display faded as he saw Zoro. He frowned.

"Oi shithead, go to the store and pick up some meat for tonight's dinner." Sanji growled. Zoro turned and glared at the blonde.

"Go and get it yourself!" he snarled. Sanji smiled smugly.

"I have to take Nami home. She can't be late for her favourite show. Besides, it's an honour to have her in my car." and Sanji's visible eye glinted as he imagined certain…things. Nami noticed this and frowned.

"Hey, don't you go 'imagining things' alright?" she snapped. Sanji was shocked.

"Of course my dear Nami." but his eyes continued to glint anyway.

"Fine, whatever." Zoro muttered as he walked down the stairs and onto the path. Chopper purred happily as he was carried down the stairs by Luffy who was humming his song again.

"Whaaa?" he said stupidly before hugging the cat in his arms, "Ok, I'll be off then. See ya guys!" and he waved like crazy, his free arm moving like a windmill. "Say goodbye to the cool weird guy Chopper! He he." and ran off, bag swinging wildly and cat meowing. Usopp started and then yelled, catching Luffy's attention again as he ran after him.

"Oi! Luffy, you forgot to get the tickets for the party on Sunday!" Usopp cried. Luffy chuckled sheepishly as he took them from Usopp.

"Party! Yay!" and he punched his fists in the air before running away again. Zoro sighed in relief.

"Yeah… goodbye." he muttered as he walked towards his motorbike.

"Good." Nami sighed before getting in Sanji's car. "Let's get going."

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Luffy stopped running as he reached the street he needed, and ironically it just happened to be where the store was located. He petted the cat in his arms absently as he looked around.

"What should we do today eh Chopper?" Luffy asked before giving a small sigh. "If only Ace were here, then there would at least be something fun to do. Shame he left. Oh well." Little did Luffy know that down the street, his new found friend the 'cool weird guy' was parking his bike beside the same store he was heading towards.

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Zoro walked towards the store, also oblivious to Luffy, who was busy staring at all the different signs on the windows. Luffy stopped at the side of the store and placed Chopper on the ground.

"Now, you stay here and be good Chopper and I'll go get you some food." Luffy cooed. Chopper mewed and Luffy smiled before walking into the store.

Zoro stood beside the meat, eyeing the different types of meat he could buy.

"Damned bastard Sanji didn't tell me what kind of food he wanted." he muttered before grabbing up a packet of mince and then turning as a packet of chops caught his attention. "...those might be alright."

Luffy chuckled as he walked through the door and stumbled on the step. He wandered into the aisles and looked around before smiling and grabbing a random box off the shelf.

"This one!" he cried, startling the man that had been standing four aisles down. He skittered over to the checkout and placed the box on the bench in front of a dark haired woman who was reading a magazine and chewing on the side of her finger. Without looking up, she grabbed the box and scanned it before saying.

"That'll be one fifty." she said and held out a hand. Luffy fumbled in his pockets for a bit before pulling out the money and giving it to her. Luffy grabbed the box and as he scooted away, waving and yelling,

"Thanks Shop lady!" before he ran out the door.

Zoro bought the mince, reconsidering about the chops and then walked out the door, thinking about sword fighting and food. He was so immersed in his thoughts, that he didn't see the small person that was standing in front of him and therefore, walked straight into him.

"Narrgh!"

"Sor- Hey, it's you!" Zoro said. Luffy got up and brushed himself off before grinning up at Zoro.

"Hey cool weird guy!" he called before glancing around. "Chopper? …where is he?"

"Yeah, I have a name you know, and I take it you've lost your stupid cat again." Zoro replied.

"What? You have a name? Of course you have a name and Chopper's not stupid." Luffy said pouting as he continued to look around for his cat and began rustling the box.

"He's stupid if he keeps getting lost." Zoro sighed before looking up at the sky. "I think it's going to rain." he muttered, more to himself than Luffy. The younger boy crossed his arms and frowned, still pouting at the same time. He placed the food in his bag and smiled.

"Well, what is it then?" Luffy asked. Zoro paused and then scowled as he placed the mince in his bag as well.

"I don't have to tell you." and then began to walk away.

"Aww, hey come on, tell me!" Luffy whined as he followed. He glanced around, still wondering where his cat went.

"Grr, fine, Roronoa Zoro, now will you leave me alone?" Zoro demanded.

"Hi, I'm Monkey D Luffy!" Luffy cried. "Nice to meet you!" and he gave a large cheesy grin. Zoro grunted as he swung onto his bike, not really listening to the boy. Look up at the sky, annoyed as rain begins to fall. He looked over at Luffy, who had his head tilted back and had his mouth open, letting the rain fall on his tongue.

"Listen kid, you'd better find your damn cat and go home, or you're gonna get really wet." Zoro cautioned. Luffy smiled.

"Nah. I like the rain!" he cried, "As for Chopper… nah, I just gotta find him." Luffy said before turning away. "Bye Zoro!" he cried. Zoro was about to start up his bike when he groaned and then continued to curse every fibre of his being for wanting to help this kid as he swung off of is bike.

"I'll help you find him." He muttered. Luffy paused and craned his neck over his shoulder.

"Really? Yaaaay!" he cried grinning. "Thanks Zoro! He probably went home…" and he began to walk down a darkened alleyway that smelled of rotten garbage and cats. Zoro looked around, following the young boy.

"Where are we going? I'm gonna get wet!" he complained. Luffy didn't even bother to look over his shoulder as he replied.

"Uh… well, I live here. Chopper doesn't usually go off on his own, but sometimes I find him heading home. I don't know why though. He's a weird cat." Luffy finished and then chuckled. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

_Weird cat for a weird owner_. He thought.

"So, you live down here?" Zoro asked aloud.

"Yeah!" Luffy replied and then grabbed Zoro's arm as the rain began to fall heavily, drenching the two instantly. "Uggh! Not good!" he cried as he dragged Zoro down the alleyway towards a small apartment.

**Gah, small cliffie, I have a bad habit of that. So, what did you all think? Make sure to congratulate Shiruji, she did most of the work :D reviews are like chickens to a mother hen, me is the mother hen, me needs chickens -hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge- ah forget it. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Luffy slammed the door closed behind Zoro and ruffled his black hair, spraying water in every direction.

"Damn. That was close." he muttered. Zoro, who had been pulling off his now soaked jacket, turned and glared at the younger boy.

"Close? You call that close? We're drenched!" he said. Luffy ignored him and turned at the sound of a loud meow.

"WHAA! CHOPPER!" he cried and picked up the little cat. Chopper meowed and licked Luffy's chin before smooching his master's chest. Luffy giggled and looked up at the green haired man.

"So, I came here for nothing? Sanji's gonna try and kick my head in because he can't start dinner without the meat. Greaaat." Zoro sighed. Luffy put a hand up to scratch the back of his head and smiled nervously.

"Yeah, sorry about that." he apologised and then took his shoes off. Zoro sighed and took his shoes off as well before looking around, a concerned look on his face as he took in the peeling wallpaper and dusty carpet.

"So, this is where you live?" he asked quietly. Luffy grinned.

"Yup!" and he turned the heater on before turning back to his guest. "Are you hungry? You must be cos I am." and he skittered off to the kitchen with a loud cry of "MEAT!". Zoro sighed and followed. Luffy was in such a hurry to get to the fridge that he ran straight past the table and ignored the piece of paper that was sitting on the shiny surface.

Zoro wandered in, hands stuffed into his pockets and a slightly worried look on his face.

Slightly.

He sat down at the table and looked over to where Luffy was digging around in the fridge, pulling out random hams and other bits of food that didn't look particularly appetising. Chopper jumped onto the table and sat down, dark eyes narrowed at Zoro who frowned.

"Stupid cat." he muttered before noticing that white bit of paper that was sticking out from under the cat's small paw. He reached over and pulled it out.

"Hey kid, your cat was sitting on this." and he held the note out towards Luffy. The black haired boy stopped digging around and turned to look at his newfound friend. He walked over and took the note.

"Due to certain circumstances, this apartment will be destroyed on Friday the 21st of the August. Sir Crocodile, Baroque Works." Luffy read out and then looked up and smiled.

"What does that mean?" he asked tilting his head to the side. Zoro paused a moment and then his dark green eyes widened slightly.

"Luffy, today's Friday." he muttered and looked out the window, the road outside blurred by the rain.

"Well of course it's Friday." Luffy cried grinning, "It couldn't be Wednesday could it?" and he hummed as he went back to the fridge. Chopper, who had been eyeing the door, suddenly arched his back and hissed loudly causing Luffy to turn and watch the cat a little concernedly.

"Chopper? Oh, you're hungry. Ok!" and he began to walk towards the cupboard across the room. Zoro raised his eyebrows as he read the note again.

"You do know what destroyed means don't you?" he asked apprehensive. Luffy chuckled.

"Nope!" he replied as he pulled down the newly bought cat food. Zoro slapped his palm against his head.

"It means they are gonna wreck your house! And if we don't get out of here, they're gonna wreck us too!" Zoro yelled, standing up so suddenly that the chair he had been sitting in fell over. Luffy paused for a moment and then his eyes widened.

"WHAT?" Luffy yelled and then ran to get Chopper, but the cat had chosen the most inconvenient time to disappear again. Zoro hurried up the hallway, looking around for the bedroom.

"We need to get your clothes and stuff! Where the hell is your room?" Zoro yelled angrily. Luffy bolted past him into a little room that looked about ready to cave in and smelled of mouldy wood.

"Here." Luffy said as he stuffed some clothes into a bag. Luffy paused a moment and looked around the room. "Meh, I'm gonna miss ya housey." he said as he patted the walls. Zoro rolled his eyes, grabbed Luffy's hand and pulled him back out into the hallway.

There was a loud rumble of machinery and the two paused, hands still interlocked. There was the sound of something swinging and then a crash as splintered woods and dust rained down on them. Chopper ran towards them, his fur on end and Luffy scooped him up before the cat could run past.

"We can't go out the front anymore, is there a back way out?" Zoro asked instantly slipping into cool, calm and collected mode. Luffy jerked a thumb at a small doorway that was off to the side.

"In the lounge room. Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?" he muttered. Zoro let the boy's hand go, grabbed his bag and scooted through the doorway.

"Come on Luffy!" he called when he realised the boy wasn't following. Luffy was still standing in the hallway, finger on his chin in thought before a stricken look passed across his face.

"HAT!" he squealed and ran towards the kitchen. Chopper meowed loudly and jumped from Luffy's arms, bolting in the opposite direction. Luffy didn't even notice as he grabbed a battered old straw hat from the bench near the cupboard. There was a crash and Luffy turned, his eyes dark with latent anger.

"STOP IT!" he yelled waving his arms around. "I haven't even gotten out of the house yet!" and there was another crash and Luffy brought both fists up. "Ya wanna fight?"

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Zoro stood anxiously by the door the led out into the same alleyway they had come down. He heard a loud crash very nearby and he turned.

"Hell no." he muttered and then ran back towards the kitchen. There was nothing and the rain was pouring in through the gigantic gaping hole, the dust swirling still. Zoro coughed and looked around, thinking that Luffy was under the debris and then he heard a pitiful meow and looked down to see Chopper sitting by a pile of wood.

"Luffy." he muttered before diving forward and pulling at the pile of debris, splintered wood driving it's way into his hands and under his nails but the green haired didn't notice. Finally, he saw a flash of skin and dug at the area around it. Luffy was unconscious, an old straw hat held tight in his hands and a massive cut across his forehead.

There was another crash and Zoro instinctively covered Luffy's face with his own body as dust and wood rained down on them. He looked up sharply as the house began to creak, finally giving way.

He grunted and grabbing a hold of Luffy's hand, he reefed the boy out. Lucky the rest of the rubble was loose. Snatching the cat up in his free hand, he ran for the door, Luffy draped over his shoulders.

Zoro watched as the last of the house caved in, the machine that had destroyed it pulling it's big iron ball in and trundling away down the street. There was a groan from his arms and Luffy winced.

"Stupid iron ball thing." he muttered before falling unconscious again. Zoro sighed. So, here he was, in a dingy alleyway, a half dead kid in his arms and a cat meowing it's head off in Luffy's bag. Today was just getting better and better.

Balancing Luffy in his arms, he managed to ride his motorbike home and parked it inside the garage next to Sanji's car. He just had to snort every time he saw that car. It was a bright yellow and would have looked rather flashy to anyone who didn't have any taste.

"Hey! A little help here?" he called as he walked into the three story boarding house. It wasn't that Luffy was heavy, but trying to open a door while balancing the kid in his arms wasn't exactly easy. Nami was first out, hurrying out of the lounge room, an open magazine still in her hand.

"What happened?" she gasped her eyes widening at the sight of the unconscious Luffy in Zoro's arms.

"Went to Luffy's house, and got beaten up by a gigantic ball." Zoro replied. Nami paused for a moment.

"WHAT?" she yelled. Zoro heard the cat yowling in Luffy's bag.

"Will you let the damn cat out of the bag for Christ's sake?" he asked turning his back on the orange haired woman. Nami leapt forward and began pulling at the zip on the bag. "Yeah. Apparently Luffy's house was condemned and he didn't even know about it until today. He uh, I think he tried to pick a fight with the destruction ball."

"That's just typical…" Nami sighed and she finally pulled the cat out and cuddled it in her arms. Sanji decided to appear then, wiping his hands on a towel. His eyes came to rest on Luffy in Zoro's arms and he frowned.

"What the hell'd you do to the kid? Beat him up because he talked to you?" the chef asked. Zoro turned back to glare at Sanji nastily.

"Shut up you shitty bastard." Zoro replied. Sanji snorted and threw the towel back into the kitchen.

"Make me." he responded. Zoro began to put Luffy down but Nami grabbed his arms and glared at him.

"This is not the time to be arguing guys." she said but Zoro ignored her. "Zoro!" she yelled and the green haired man looked at her. "Put him up in the guest room. At least we have one room available. Sanji, get the bandages." she snapped. Zoro glared at the chef as he walked past and up the stairs. Sanji watched him for a minute.

"Sanji! Go!" Nami growled and then hurried past him after Zoro.

"Of course Nami!" Sanji cried, his eye quickly becoming a heart and sparkles seeming to leap from the air around him.

Zoro walked into the guest room, Nami following him in and rubbing her head.

"I knew his house was a dump, but I didn't think they would wreck it." she muttered. Zoro walked over and lay Luffy gently on the double bed.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad." he replied. "He seemed to like it though. Weird kid." he added and gently began undoing the buttons on the front of Luffy's shirt. Nami sighed.

"Here Nami!" Sanji cried as he ran into the room, his arms overflowing with bandages and a bowl of warm water and a cloth.

"Taking off a boy's shirt without consent. You are so gay." Sanji muttered as he placed the medical gear on the side table. Nami sighed, rubbed her temples and walked out.

Zoro chose to ignore the comment and instead focused on the front of Luffy's chest where a massive bruise was swelling and the skin was going a rather nasty purpley colour.

Sanji snickered behind him as Zoro undid the last button and pulled the shirt apart. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Fine. You do it then." and he stepped back and crossed his arms. "He's gonna be friggin' dead by the time you're done with him." Sanji frowned and leaned against the door frame.

"Just bandage him for fuck's sake." the chef snapped. Zoro glared at him for another minute and then stepped back up to Luffy and finished taking his shirt off. Luffy let out a whimper and Zoro twitched.

"Sorry." he muttered. Luffy winced again and then began to moan in his sleep.

"Hat… where's hat?" and he trailed off.

"Hat? What the hell did I do with that damn thing?" Zoro said and then craned his neck to look at Sanji over his shoulder. "Sanji, could you find the straw hat by my bag?"

"Why the hell do I have to?" Sanji snapped.

"Just do it ya bastard!" Zoro yelled. Sanji muttered angrily and walked out the door. Zoro began rubbing bruise ointment into Luffy's chest and the boy winced before sighing and relaxing against the pillows.

_Why the hell am I doing this? I should have just buggered off and let Nami and Sanji handle it. Stupid kid, what kind of a moron takes on a friggin' wrecking ball? _Zoro thought as he finished rubbing the ointment into the boy's chest and then wrapped a bandage around the thin chest.

As Zoro looked down on the boy, he noticed how weird he looked. Small and thin about the shoulders and skin like soft rubber.

But what was really strange was the small, hard abdominal muscles that were packed across the boy's stomach. He took a moment to study him and then pulled the shirt back up and button it again.

"Here's the damn hat." Sanji announced and threw the hat like a Frisbee at Zoro's head, who turned and caught it reflexively before placing it on Luffy's head.

"Is he alright?" Sanji asked. Zoro nodded.

"Yeah. He's asleep." he replied. Nami walked in and looked around.

"Everything alright?" she inquired.

"Just peachy." Zoro responded before sitting down next to the bed and yawning widely.

"Just fine Nami!" Sanji cried as sparks of electricity seemed to bounce off of him.

"Good. Well, how about that dinner Sanji?" Nami asked sweetly.

"Ah, of course my gorgeous swan!" Sanji cried. "If that Marimo hasn't forgotten to get the meat I asked him to get." Sanji snarled and looked at Zoro who snored loudly. The chef aimed a kick at the man's head, but Zoro dodged out of the way and opened his eyes enough to present the cook with a vehement glare.

"It's in the bag downstairs you moron." Zoro replied before closing his eyes and heaving a deep breath. Sanji dug his hands deep into his pockets before walking out and down the stairs. Nami watched him for a moment, a sly smile spreading slowly across her face until Zoro opened an eye and glared at her.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked. Nami shook her head, smiled and then turned and followed Sanji out the door. Zoro muttered nastily before going back to sleep again.

A few hours later, a grumpy chef walked up the stairs, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets.

"Get up ya lazy bastard." Sanji snarled as he walked into the room. Zoro didn't even twitch and the cook smiled as he brought a leg up and aimed a kick at the man's stomach. It connected and Zoro gave a loud grunt. Luffy woke with a start and looked around blearily.

"Whaaaa?" he asked sleepily as he rubbed his head. Zoro jumped to his feet and clenched his fists.

"Asshole! I'm going to slice you from throat to stomach!" he yelled. Sanji raised a foot again, ready for a fight. Behind the green haired man, Luffy tried to get up, but he grunted in pain and flopped back against the bed with a whine.

"Like to see you try! Besides, your boyfriend is trying to get up." Sanji replied before pointing at Luffy.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Zoro snarled before turning around and letting the snarl on his face fade. "You okay?"

"Mmm, hurts…" Luffy muttered. Zoro nodded.

"Sure looks like your boyfriend…" Sanji mumbled before walking out the door again. Zoro looked over his shoulder and frowned.

"Oh fuck off cook." he snapped before turning back to Luffy again. "Why did you try and take on an iron ball?" Luffy pouted.

"…because it was stupid." he growled. Zoro sighed and rubbed his face.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Luffy cried lighting up. He finally realised his hat was on his head and took it off to pat it. "Good hat." and he placed it on his head again. There was a meow and Chopper ran up beside the bed. Zoro swiftly picked Luffy up.

"Chopper! Whoa!" Luffy cried as he was picked up.

"Can you stand?" Zoro asked as he gently set him down on his feet.

"Yeah, no problem." he replied and Zoro let him go. Luffy balanced for a moment and then fell forward, "Whaa!" Zoro grabbed him before he hit the floor.

"Ok. This could be a problem." he muttered. Luffy laughed nervously as he was swept up again and placed back on the bed. "Wait here and I'll get you some food." and he sighed as he walked away. Luffy fiddled with the bandages around his wrist and forehead.

"Wait? What a boring thing to do." he muttered. It didn't take long before Zoro walked back in the door carrying a tray laden with food. There were two bowls of rice mixed with some of the mince Zoro had bought.

"Here." Zoro muttered as he handed the food to Luffy.

"YAAY FOOD!" Luffy cried, startling the older man and almost making him drop the food he had been carrying. It took all of five minutes for Luffy to inhale his food, leaving a very stunned Zoro to just watch as the food was demolished.

"Wow." he muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all, sorry about the wait on this story. Shiruji and I have been kind of busy over the last few weeks. You may also notice that this chapter is Zoro instead of Zolo, but, I shall fix up the first two chapters when I get some time. I have tons of homework, _and _a puppy to look after. **

**Chapter 3**

It had been a lot of hard work for Zoro to try and get Luffy into bed, as the boy kept bouncing around the room, inspecting it and exclaiming about how wonderful it was. Zoro just grunted as he dropped obvious hints that, a) he was tired b) he was grumpy and c)… he was tired. Luffy didn't seem to catch on and it took all of Zoro's self restraint to try and keep his anger in check.

After all, the kid was hurt, and if he started yelling it would only frighten the kid and probably make him go running to Usopp about how much of a monster Zoro was. Right now, he didn't need that.

Everybody else thought he was a monster, and not that he really cared, but, it hurt sometimes and Luffy had been the first, and most annoying, person to actually be nice to him. Well, he guessed Nami, Sanji and Usopp were all nice, but, still. Luffy had grown attached to him somehow, like a puppy does to it's master, and it made Zoro feel… different, special in a kind of way.

"Luffy! Stop hanging from the damn light!" Zoro yelled, grabbing at Luffy's feet as the boy swung around like a monkey from the glass shade that was around the light. Luffy giggled crazily before jumping back to the floor, and wincing at the pain it caused. Zoro shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"Luffy, go to bed, or I swear, I am going to not give you food ever again." he threatened. Luffy stiffened.

"You wouldn't…" he gasped, the very thought of no food ever again horrifying the boy. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Try me." he replied and Luffy was in bed so fast, the blankets were fluttering from the slipstream. Zoro blinked.

_Note to self, threats of no food make Luffy do whatever you want him to do. _Zoro thought before yawning. Luffy rolled over in his bed and watched as Zoro made for the door.

"Zoro…" he quietly muttered, dark eyes wide as he rubbed his fingers over the edge of his hat, which was laying beside him on the pillow. Zoro turned.

"What?" he asked, with a little more patience than he had expected it to sound. Luffy blinked at him.

"Can you… stay here?" he mumbled, face almost hidden under the blankets as he wriggled his way deeper into the warmth of the mattress. Zoro paused.

"Why?" he asked. Luffy shrugged, the movement barely visible under the mound of bedclothes. Zoro noticed the look of uncertainty on Luffy's face and his face softened ever so slightly before he wandered back over.

"I'll stay… I just have to get a blanket and a pillow, alright?" and Luffy's face brightened.

"K!" he cried. Zoro hurried out the door, and up to his room. Pausing momentarily to look at his katana, which were resting by the bed, he grabbed a blanket from said bed and a pillow and wrapped them in his arms.

Before walking out again, he made sure everything in his room was in it's place, and Sanji, Nami and Usopp hadn't planted any 'practical jokes' as they liked to call them. Zoro always managed to avoid them of course, but, still, he was wary. Closing the door, he hurried back down the hall, careful to avoid Nami and Sanji's rooms as they would probably think he was up to something.

Wouldn't that be a pain in the katana? When he got back to Luffy's room, the boy was already fast asleep, one thin hand clenched tightly on the straw hat beside him. Zoro watched him for a few moments, before closing the door behind him, switching off the light, and settling himself down on the floor beside Luffy's bed.

----------------

Luffy's eyelids fluttered as he slowly awoke. The room was dim, but that was only because the curtains were drawn. It must have already been at least eight thirty outside. He looked around the room and noticed Zoro on the floor next to him.

The swordsman was on his side, facing towards the underside of Luffy's bed, and his hand was resting under his head while the other was wrapped around his own waist.

Luffy tilted his head and leaned down over the edge of the bed to get a closer look at the green haired man. There was a gurgling sound and Luffy looked back at his stomach, as he balanced precariously on the edge of the bed.

"Ack, hungry." he muttered before looking back at Zoro, who gave a particularly loud snore. Leaning even further down, Luffy gave Zoro a good, hard … poke in the centre of his forehead. Zoro winced and then sleepily batted Luffy's hand away, before snuggling his head back into his hand.

Luffy raised an eyebrow and then giggled. Now this, this was entertainment. Reaching out that ever persistent finger again, he gave Zoro another hard poke in the same place. Zoro groaned and rolled away this time, bringing a hand up to sleepily rub at his forehead. Now Zoro was facing away from Luffy, and this made the boy pout.

"No fun…" he mumbled before poking Zoro in the side. A hand snapped back and Luffy found his wrist caught in a vice grip.

"Do that again, and you won't have a hand much longer." the swordsman grumbled, still vaguely attempting to go back to sleep. Luffy giggled.

"Really? Cool." he replied. Zoro, realizing he wasn't going to get any more valuable sleep this morning, sat up and let Luffy's hand go as he did so.

"You would give up your hand?" he asked a little incredulously.

"Yeah! I know this guy who gave up his arm for me. He's really cool." Luffy replied as he waved his arms crazily through the air. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

_Someone gave their arm for this kid? Weird. _Zoro thought before shaking his head.

"Ok, well, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom and then I'll be right back." Zoro said as he stood and moved toward the door.

"Ok!" Luffy cried with a large grin. Zoro, who was just about out the door, paused, rolled his eyes and then continued with a muttered,

"Moron."

Zoro wasn't gone long and as he pushed open the door into the spare room, he noticed something. Something a little terrifying. Luffy, was gone.

"…uh oh." he muttered, looking around the room as he stood petrified in the doorway.

"Foooooooooood!" echoed down the corridor and Zoro spun around, wincing as he did so.

"That can't be good." he said before racing towards the stairs.

---------------

Sanji was just about to walk out of the kitchen when a blur of black whizzed past and collided into the clotheshorse standing by the kitchen door. Sanji blinked and then frowned as Luffy's head poked out from underneath one of Zoro's shirts.

"Where the fuck did you come from you little hyper bastard?" Sanji asked. Luffy rubbed his head for a minute before sitting up and pointing towards the stairs.

"Up there." he replied before giving a slight whine of pain. Sanji raised an eyebrow and then looked over as Zoro came hurrying down the stairs.

"Where…what…what the hell are you doing?" Zoro growled, spotting Luffy underneath all the clothes.

"Sitting under a pile of clothes apparently, Marimo." Sanji returned. Zoro frowned and pointed at Sanji,

"You, don't even start with me today." and his finger shifted to point at Luffy, "You, get back up to bed." Luffy pouted at being ordered what to do and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.

"But I'm hungry." he replied. Zoro sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead.

"Don't be so rude to the boy, shit head. Breakfast is ready anyway." Sanji said before walking past Luffy and a little further down the hall and then walking into the dining room. Zoro looked at Luffy who was getting to his feet.

"Luffy, go on. Get in there and hurry up, but straight after, you are to go back upstairs and rest. You _are _still injured… but, not that I care or anything it's just, I don't want to have to look after you forever." Zoro finished a little nervously. Luffy blinked, shrugged and then grinned.

"Okay!" he replied before heading towards the door, swaying every now and again. Zoro watched him from where he was standing next to the kitchen door.

_Idiot, can't even stand straight. Look at him, he's about to damn well fall over for Christ's sake. _Zoro thought and then Luffy began to fall backwards and Zoro dived forward and grabbed him before he hit the ground.

Unfortunately for Zoro, it was right in front of the doorway and in front of everyone else. Sanji, who was sitting across from Nami, blinked for a moment and then turned to smile slyly at the orange haired woman.

"Thanks Zoro!" Luffy cried and grinned at Zoro, who was standing petrified in his place, still holding onto Luffy. Nami snickered, putting a hand over her mouth as she did so.

"I need to get a camera. This is perfect blackmail material." she said and Sanji nodded. Zoro finally came out of his shocked state and set Luffy back on his feet.

"No you do not." he hissed. Nami's mouth twisted.

"I already said I did." and then she hummed for a moment in thought, "Well, I guess I will just have to wait for another opportunity."

"Ah, Nami is so sweet when she is planning blackmail!" Sanji cried, hearts bubbling from his head and exploding in the air. Luffy watched the exchange between the three and then blinked, clearly not understanding what Nami was implying. Zoro blushed and sat down next to Usopp, gritting his teeth as he did so.

Chopper wandered into the room and sat down in the doorway, making his presence known with a loud,"Meow."

Luffy sat opposite Usopp and smiled down at his cat.

"Hia Chopper." he said.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities lovely Nami!" Sanji cried, replying to what she had said earlier.

"Watch it Luffy, that cat might have the dangerous disease called herbunculitis. It makes them go crazy and then start meowing the national anthem." Usopp said. Luffy paused, hand still resting on Chopper's head.

"Really?" he asked, "Whoooow…but I can't stay away from Chopper!" he squeaked. Usopp rested an elbow on the table and ran a hand through his hair before readjusting the bandana around his head.

"Of course, the great Usopp can pull a few strings…" he announced. Luffy blinked.

"Of course there will be more opportunities Sanji." Nami replied, taking a short drink of her tea and then resting her elbows on the table. Zoro rolled his eyes at Usopp from where he was sitting.

"There is nothing wrong with Chopper, Luffy, Usopp always tells stories." he said and then took a quick sip of his coffee. Sanji, obviously ignoring all other events taking place around the table that didn't include his wonderful Nami, quickly wiped his hands on a serviette.

"So, what are you doing today my sweet Nami?" he asked. Nami paused and then thought for a bit. She needed to think of something that Sanji would not be interested in and therefore would not want to go with her.

He was nice and all, but he could become a real pain in the neck when he hung around her all day. Chopper took the opportunity to jump into Luffy's lap and then with a short flick of his tail, began settling down and curling into a little ball, his purring so loud it was able to be heard across the table by Zoro.

"Really? …Okay!" Luffy cried, grinning at Zoro and Usopp. Usopp looked decidedly disgruntled that Zoro had spoiled his fun, but then brightened as he got a new idea.

"Yes! For I am the great storyteller Usopp! Known world wide as the greatest teller of tales! People come from east and west to hear the tales of the…" Usopp cried before Nami reached over and absently hit Usopp up the backside of the head.

"I'm going shopping today Sanji." Nami replied, not even acknowledging the hurt look Usopp was giving her.

"What's the point? You never buy anything anyway." Usopp asked as he rubbed his head. Nami reached over and Usopp dodged but she just moved her hand and hit him in the front of the head instead. Zoro, who was about to take another sip of his coffee as he ignored everything going on around him, glared at Usopp as the smaller boy whacked into his shoulder after leaning away from Nami.

Usopp cowered in his seat. Sanji began eating again and Nami followed suit. Zoro had been absently picking at his food, thinking about what he could do later on, and how he could get away from the house for a while.

It really could get quite dull sitting around the house, not that being with Luffy was dull, but, one did get sick of the same four walls so to speak. There was a momentary lapse of silence and then Luffy's stomach gave a loud rumble, startling the cat sitting on his lap.

"Might I accompany you in shopping my gorgeous flower?" Sanji asked, ignoring the sound. Nami shrugged, her face revealing no emotion.

"Do as you please Sanji." she replied.

_Damn, damn, damn. _She thought.

"Foooood…" Luffy moaned getting everyone's attention. He looked at Usopp's food, and Usopp grabbed the plate and pulled it closer to himself.

"No way!" he cried and then began eating the last of his food, arm protectively covering the front of his plate. Luffy poked out his tongue and then looked towards Nami's plate. She had heaps of food left.

"30 bucks if you steal my food Luffy." she said and then pulled a shopping brochure towards her and began reading. Luffy whined and then gazed at Zoro's food. Zoro blinked and then looked down at his food before frowning.

"No way in hell kid, or I'll take that hand like I promised." he replied to the unasked question. Sanji, seeing that Luffy was truly still hungry, and being the 'never let anyone who wants food starve' sort of chef, stood, wiped his hands on his serviette again and then picked Luffy's plate up.

"I'll get you some more if you want…?" he asked. Luffy beamed and began cheering.

"YAAAY! Sanji… you're the best!" he cried as Sanji left the room. Zoro glared at the chef's back as the blonde haired man walked out and then his brows furrowed and he shook his head, not entirely sure why he had done that.

_Must really hate him this morning. _Zoro thought and went back to his food. Sanji walked back in, a small smile on his face.

"I know I'm the best. That's plainly obvious." he replied to Luffy's continuing cheers. The cheers were cut short though as Luffy began to ingest his food. Nami watched, her lip wrinkled in disgust before she pushed her plate away.

Usopp wasn't really bothered by it, having spent a fair bit of time around Luffy at school. And Zoro couldn't quite frankly care less, that is until a speck of liquid from Luffy's food hit him in the side of the face, then he began to get annoyed.

"Luffy…? You wanna slow down a little?" Zoro asked. Luffy ignored him and Sanji's mouth was slightly open in shock, newly lit cigarette hanging from his lip. Nami shook her head and Sanji frowned.

"Nami doesn't appreciate the way you eat kid, quit it!" he yelled from the head of the table. Luffy blinked and then looked down at his empty plate which almost seemed to sparkle in the light it was that clean.

"…where did it go?" he muttered and then lifted up the plate and peeked under it.

"It went into your unfillable stomach Luffy." Nami commented. Luffy blinked again.

"Cool." he said and then grinned. Zoro shook his head and then stood as he finished his food.

"Luffy…remember what I said?" he asked. Luffy hummed in thought for a moment.

_What was it again…? Oh yeah! _he thought before pouting and looking up at Zoro.

"But, I'm not tired." he replied. Nami stood from her place and walked out to put her plate in the sink in the kitchen before walking back to the doorway into the dining room, Sanji hurrying over to lean against the wall beside her.

"Luffy, do you want to heal or not?" Zoro asked. Luffy pouted harder, his bottom lip jutting out. Sanji, leaned in closer to Nami and whispered,

"I think he just wants to get Luffy to bed." and Nami smirked.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." she replied and then looked at Zoro, "Or what Zoro?" Luffy gave a loud sigh,

"Yeah…but…" he muttered but Zoro wasn't paying attention. Usopp was sitting at the table, watching the whole exchange with a mixture of interest, and fright.

"You stay out of this." Zoro hissed towards Nami. Sanji instantly bristled.

"That's no way to treat Nami!" he returned. Chopper meowed from his position on Luffy's lap, why, no one knew. Luffy petted the cat absently as he watched the fight grow.

"Back off funky eyebrow!" Zoro yelled at Sanji, who raised said eyebrow.

"Make me Christmas tree." he replied. Luffy looked up at Nami who had moved away from Sanji towards Luffy, who was still at the table.

"Nami, are they gonna fight?" Luffy asked. Nami frowned.

"Not here they aren't." she hissed before stepping forward and hitting both men in the head, causing Sanji and Zoro to fall to the ground with gigantic lumps on the backs of their heads. Luffy chuckled and Nami dusted her hands off. Usopp was shaking at the table.

"That woman is scary." he muttered before scooting from the room. Nami winked at Luffy, who chuckled harder and then she walked out of the room. Zoro began getting up from the floor, shaking his head as he did so.

"I really hate that woman." he muttered and then saw Luffy chuckling at him. His frowned and his face warmed slightly, "Get to bed Luffy." he growled. Sanji got up from the floor as well, before leaping out the door with a parting,

"Wait for me Nami-swaaaan!" Luffy blinked after Sanji and then turned back to his temporary carer.

"But, Zorooooooo." he whined. Zoro crossed his arms.

" Now." he growled. Luffy bowed his head and then putting Chopper down, he got up from the table with a sigh.

"Okay." he grumbled before making for the stairs. As he went out the door though, he succeeded in missing the doorway entirely and walking into a door.

"Whoopsie…" Luffy muttered before stepping back and rubbing a hand over the back of his head as Zoro gave him an 'are you totally insane?' look. Luffy blinked, small pink patches appearing on the bridge of his nose and underneath his eyes.

_What's this? My face feels weird…All, hot and stuff. What's that about? _Luffy thought as Zoro crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"…why did you do that?" Zoro asked half joking. Luffy's brows furrowed and he frowned slightly.

"I didn't do it on purpose." he replied and then glared at the wall, "Stupid wall." he muttered. Zoro blinked and then a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Sure…" he replied a little sarcastically. Luffy's eyes widened.

"Honestly! It was just in my way is all!" and he nodded to confirm the point. Zoro chuckled.

"I'm sure it was." he said and then shook his head before looking away.

_He makes me feel so… light. Happy. Dumb kid. _Zoro thought with a small smile before walking out of the dining room and then up the stairs, Luffy trailing behind and Chopper hot on his master's heels. Luffy glared at Zoro's back as he walked.

"It was." he muttered before leaning against the rail to try and walk up the stairs. The mark from the wrecking ball had been left on his chest, but his whole body ached something fierce, but he wasn't going to let anyone else know that.

Zoro paused and then looked back down from where he was halfway up. He spotted Luffy trying to lift a leg up the stairs, but the boy just couldn't do it. His body refused to co-operate.

"Here…" he said and hurried back down the stairs before lifting Luffy into his arms and moving back up again.

"I can walk on my own you know." Luffy said, still a little miffed about the wall incident. He frowned and crossed his arms, glaring resolutely at Zoro's face. Zoro glared back down at Luffy as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Apparently you can't because you couldn't get up the stairs, could you?" he asked. Luffy frowned deeper and then poked out his tongue.

"No fair." he said. Zoro began walking towards the room where Luffy was staying.

"Whoever said I was fair?" he asked. Luffy pondered this for a moment.

"Hmmm… dunno." he replied and then chuckled, happy again. Chopper trotted behind them, tail held high and small head twisting and turning as he took in everything around him. Zoro blinked.

"That was sarcasm Luffy." he explained. Luffy looked lost.

"…sarawha?" he asked. Zoro groaned in an annoyed manner.

"Never mind." he replied before plomping Luffy down onto the bed, "Now, stay there."

"But, that's booooorinnnnng." Luffy whined as he kicked the blankets downwards and then wriggled under them. Zoro nodded.

"Exactly. And the longer it takes for you to heal, the more bored you will be." Zoro explained and began to walk out. Luffy blinked, not understanding that logic at all, before snapping his head around and letting out a long whine.

"But, Zorroooooooo." Luffy called with a large pout.

_I am getting so sick of my name being said like that. _Zoro thought as he paused in the doorway.

"What?" he asked as he turned back to face Luffy again. The boy grinned.

"Tell me a story! That way I won't be bored!" he cried, bouncing on the bed, "Pleaaaaaaase?" Zoro blinked and then shook his head to make sure he had heard right. How old was this kid again?

"…what? A story? You're crazy." he replied.

"Please?" Luffy asked, his eyes turning all puppy dog like. Zoro grit his teeth, trying to resist the charm of the boy's cute look. He lost that war… by a mile.

"Fine." he growled, annoyed at himself. He walked over and sat on the edge of Luffy's bed. "Story about what?"

"Hmmm," Luffy hummed in thought again before looking at Zoro and grinning, "A story about Zoro!" Zoro paused.

"About me? Why?" he asked.

"Because Zoro is cool!" Luffy cried and then nodded once again to confirm his own statement.

"…cool?" he asked.

_He thinks I'm cool? _Zoro thought before blinking.

"Uh, well, there's nothing really to tell." he replied, scratching at his pierced ear. Luffy pouted and tilted his head.

"You're worse than Usopp at lying." he stated and Zoro stiffened.

"I wasn't lying ya little brat." he hissed.

_How the hell did he know I was lying! _Zoro thought before clearing his throat.

"I guess I could tell you about…hmm, my swords?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah! Cool." Luffy confirmed, bouncing on the bed again before settling into a crossed legged position, hands clenched tight around his ankles. Zoro thought a moment.

"Well, the white handled one I have, is… was, my childhood friend, Kuina's." he said and then glanced at Luffy who was patiently listening, his eyes wide. Zoro cleared his throat again and continued, "The other two are cursed blades, and I bought them from a man who thought they were worth less than they actually were. Kuina's blade is the strongest though." he explained, kind of enjoying having the opportunity to speak about something he felt a strong sense of pride for.

"Cursed?" Luffy asked and Zoro nodded. "Wow." and there were sparkles in his eyes. "So, why is the white one the strongest?"

"Uhh, I guess because it's made out of a dream are stronger than anything… I suppose." Zoro explained.

"Hnh… cursed." Luffy repeated, and Zoro nodded.

"Uh, yeah, cursed. So there you go. That was a story." Zoro finished before looking around, making sure he was looking at anything but Luffy.

"So where do you use them? The swords. Because you can't use them in the house right?" Luffy asked, watching Zoro with an interested expression on his face. Zoro stiffened.

"Ah, yeah well. Nami throttles me if I try. I really do hate that woman. I, uh, I use them in the gym sometimes, but, I got banned from there a few weeks ago." Zoro explained.

"That's a shame then." Luffy said. Zoro paused and then nodded.

"Yeah…I guess." and then he sighed.

_I'm not gonna tell him the truth. That would mean he would get scared of me. …I hate to admit it, but, it's nice to have someone treat me nicely. _Zoro thought and then smiled. He looked at Luffy who blinked and then smiled back.

_Zoro's so nice. Wonder why he's smiling at me. I like it. I like when Zoro smiles. _Luffy thought and then yawned.

"Thanks Zoro." he said and Zoro shrugged as Luffy snuggled into his pillows, and then Chopper jumped onto the bed and curled up next to Luffy's feet, but, Luffy was already asleep. Zoro watched him for a bit and then noticed his eyes were drooping.

"Damn…" he muttered, before slipping off and then leaning against the side of the bed. He yawned and his eyes closed, not even registering that the door was still open.

----------------

Nami rolled her eyes as she heard Sanji hurrying after her. Sanji caught up to Nami and then glanced back at Zoro who was walking up the stairs, Luffy at the bottom and Chopper trailing behind.

"I think… we should have a little fun with them. Don't you think Nami?" Sanji asked.

"That's why I'm going out to get a new camera. With zoom." Nami replied and then winked. Sanji blinked and then smiled.

"Ah, Nami is so clever!" he cried.

"Thankyou Sanji." and she walked out the door, Sanji trailing behind.

**So, how was that chappie? Was it written to what people like? I hope so. Reviews make Plushie a happy girl. **

**-Waves at Shiruji- Didja like it? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we are once again. Shiruji and I had a few bumps (parental interruptions) while working on this chapter, but, we managed to finish it without too much trouble. But, I hope you like this chapter, and it's a little short, but meh. I like this one. Zoro on a motorbike -drools-**

_**Chapter 4**_

The two slept right through the morning until about two in the afternoon. The earth had turned and now the sun was peeping through the little window in front of the bed. Zoro blinked and his face screwed up into a scowl as the sun hit him directly in the eyes. He stretched his arms wide above his head and groaned before opening his eyes blearily and looking around.

"Damn, I like sleeping but this is too much." he muttered, scratching his back.

"…nnn, food…" Luffy muttered behind him before snoring and rolling over to face the swordsman. He did that a lot. Zoro watched him for a moment and his mouth twitched up in a little smile.

_He's kinda cute when he's like this. _Zoro thought before his eyes went wide and he shook his head, pressing his palm to his temple, _No, did not just think that. _And the swordsman got up from the floor, intent on making his way towards the bathroom. He had just reached the door when he heard something a little… strange.

"… nnn, don't you dare hurt people like… hnn, that…" Luffy muttered, his face contorting into one of rage and anger. Zoro paused and looked back over his shoulder, a concerned look on his face.

It was plainly obvious that Luffy was having a nightmare, and from the sounds of those mutters, it was pretty bad. "I'll beat the crap out of you…" Zoro tilted his head slightly as he watched.

_What the hell…? _He thought.

"Hnn… I'll get you! Don't you …. Don't you… AH!" and Zoro jumped at the sound, "Stupid ALLIGATOR!" Luffy yelled, his fists clenched on the pillow under his head and his body contorting under the sheets. An insane look had almost taken over his face, much like someone who was in pain but extremely enraged at the same time.

"What the hell! Luffy…" Zoro yelled, as he hurried back over and put his hands on Luffy's shoulders and giving the boy a shake, "Come on, wake up!"

"…hnn, food?" Luffy mumbled before opening an eye and looking around blearily. Zoro sighed, relief taking over his senses before he became a little annoyed.

"What's with you? What were you dreaming about?" Zoro asked. Luffy blinked and then grinned,

"Oh! Hi Zoro!" Luffy cried happily, finally realizing who it was leaning over him. Zoro blinked.

"…yeah, hi." he replied. _Doesn't remember? Or doesn't want to tell? _Zoro thought, his eyes becoming unfocused as he thought. Luffy sat up and tilted his head, a small smile on his face.

"Zoro is spacing out." he commented. Zoro blinked and then turned to Luffy, who was watching him intently.

"Whaaa…?" he asked intelligently, "I am not spacing out. I was wondering what goes on inside that big head of yours."

"Eh? I have lotsa things inside my head. Right now, it's food and without food, you'll die. Therefore, I need food." Luffy stated solemnly, nodding as if to confirm his point. Zoro blinked.

"Can't argue with that I guess." he replied. Luffy grinned.

"See!" the boy cried, obviously happy that the swordsman agreed with him.

"Okay, let's go and get some food. No one else is in the house so we have it pretty much to ourselves." Zoro said and then paused as he thought about his latest sentence. That had sounded just a little sussed.

"OKAAAAAY!" Luffy cried as he jumped from the bed, grabbed his hat and bolted for the door. Zoro jumped out of the way as Luffy bolted past and watched the still swinging door with wide eyes.

"That kid is nuts." he muttered before following, a little less enthusiastically. Luffy, in his hurry to get to the food, and not to mention he was still injured, lost his footing on the top of the stairs and then tumbled all the way down to the bottom, landing with a hard 'thunk' on not so soft carpet.

"WOOHOO! That was fun!" he cried as he jumped up again, grabbing his hat from where it had fallen and placing it back atop his head.

Zoro stood in shock at the top of the stairs, having just witnessed a fall that had previously broken Nami's leg a few years ago. She had lost her footing and Sanji had nearly gone out of his brain when he found her unconscious at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are… you ok?" Zoro asked and Luffy turned to look up at him, his face one of innocent curiosity.

"…yeah…?" he asked unsurely. Zoro sighed as he began to walk down the stairs.

"You don't know whether you're okay or not. Handy." he replied. Luffy chuckled,

"ShiShiShiShiShi. It was fun!" he said brightly. Zoro raised and eyebrow and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sure it was." and he moved into the kitchen. Luffy blinked and then followed happily, stumbling every now and again.

"Yeah, it was. Just as fun as it is to be with Zoro!" Luffy commented innocently as he walked into the kitchen. Zoro, who was looking in the fridge, turned towards the boy, his eyes a little wide for a moment before they fell back into their half lidded, lazy expression.

"Uh huh. So, what do you want to eat?" Zoro asked as he turned back to the fridge.

"MEAT!" Luffy cried, waving his fists in the air and doing a weird little dance which was only made weirder by the fact that he was stiff and sore.

"…meat? Well, I guess it is…" and he trailed off as he looked at the clock to check the time, "Holy crap! I was supposed to be at the shopping centre an hour ago!" he yelled, slamming the fridge door shut and grabbing at his head. Luffy blinked.

"Shopping centre?" he asked, a little confused. Why would Zoro need to go there? All the food was right in front of him in the device known as a fridge, which, to someone like Luffy, was the ultimate in food machines.

"Yeah. I work there part time." he replied as he raced around, picking up his keys and making sure all the windows were shut and locked. Sanji would never forgive him if someone broke in and stole everything.

"Oohh." Luffy replied before grinning, "You better run then Zoro." and he chuckled cheekily. Zoro paused a moment to throw a sarcastic glance at Luffy.

"No duh." he replied, "That's very funny Luffy."

"Yeah it is." Luffy commented causing Zoro to pause and sigh. He was getting a headache. Then, a horrifying thought occurred to the swordsman.

_Hang on, if I have to go, and there is no one else in the house… that means… _And Zoro looked towards Luffy who was idly scratching his chin, _Aww hell no. _Zoro let out a loud sigh and Luffy looked at him, a bright smile on his face.

"Luffy, you're gonna have to come with me." the swordsman said resignedly. Luffy, who had just reached for a plate, expecting to get some food, dropped said plate in shock. Lucky the plate was plastic and Zoro walked over and picked the plate up, placing it in the sink.

"But…food?" Luffy whimpered, very put out.

"You can get food down there. I promise I will buy you some, but, I really need to go… now!" Zoro yelled when Luffy just looked at him. Luffy started and then laughed.

"OKAY!" he cried.

"Let's go then." and Zoro hurried to the door, pausing to slip on his shoes before going out the door. Luffy sat down on the floor, grabbing a shoe and pulling it onto his foot with his tongue caught between his teeth and poking out. He grabbed the other shoe and did the same thing before jumping up. He paused a moment and then began laughing.

"I put them on the wrong feet!" he cried before sitting down again and pulling them off and switching them over. Zoro tapped his foot impatiently from the doorway, his arms crossed impatiently.

Luffy finally managed to get his shoes on right and bounced out the door, grabbing his jacket as he went. The boy pulled it on, but, unfortunately had pulled it on inside out. The two hurried to the bike and Zoro paused a moment.

"You… gonna fix that?" he asked. Luffy blinked and tilted his head.

"Fix what?"

"Your jacket, it's inside out." Zoro replied, pointing to said denim jacket. Luffy looked down and then laughed.

"I'm having a topsy turvy day." he said before pulling off the jacket and putting it back on the right way. "Okay, done!"

"Fantastic. Now, can we go?" Zoro asked as he slipped onto the bike.

"Okay!" Luffy replied and jumped on behind Zoro.

"Hold on tight or you'll fall off and oh what a tragedy that'd be." Zoro commented sarcastically. Luffy giggled and wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist and squeezed tightly.

"Let's go!" the boy cried with a grin. Zoro stiffened slightly at Luffy's touch and frowned.

_What the hell? Stupid kid, held too tight. _Zoro thought before starting the bike and giving it a short rev.

"Okay, here we go." Zoro muttered as he turned the bike out onto the road.

_Wow, Zoro has a lot of muscle in his stomach. _Luffy thought as he felt the taller man's body coil forward to balance the weight and stop the wind from slowing them down. He grinned as the wind rushed past, Zoro's short hair waving in front of him and Luffy's long black locks flapping around his face.

"Woot!" Luffy cried and began laughing. This was awesome! Best fun he had had in years! He hadn't been on a motorbike since… well, since Ace had left. Zoro sighed as he turned the bike around a corner.

_Zoro is so cool. _Luffy thought as he stared at the back of Zoro's head and he smiled to himself and then his smile fell, _It's a shame I can't stay though. That stupid reptile is following me. Well, I guess I'll just have to beat him up again_. At the same time, Zoro was thinking as well as he drove into the underground parking at the supermarket.

_How the hell am I supposed to control this kid while I'm here? Not to mention I have to try and work at the same time. _He thought as he slowed the bike and tried to find a good parking spot. He finally found a good one nearby the elevator and escalator. Zoro parked the bike and put the kickstand down.

"Okay Luffy, let's go." he said. He couldn't exactly get off the bike until Luffy let go.

"Hm?" Luffy asked, obviously spacing out before he shook his head and smiled, putting a hand back and replacing his hat. It had slipped off during the ride and had been caught around his neck with a bit of string. "Oh yeah!" he cried and then giggled before slipping from the bike. Zoro sighed and shook his head.

"Come on." He said before dropping the keys in his pocket and then walking towards the doors that led into the elevator. Luffy followed the taller man into the elevator and blinked at the reflection in the mirror on the opposite side.

"So, where do you work?" he asked. Zoro let the doors slide shut and hit the fourth floor button. Luffy was watching the numbers above the door.

"At the cd store. Not much pay, but, at least the customers aren't on my case about my hair." he replied and Luffy chuckled.

"Why do people get on your case about your hair?" he asked. Zoro shrugged.

"It's green. Duh." he replied and Luffy shrugged.

"Looks cool in my opinion. Cd store eh? Woot! MUSIC!" Luffy burst out without warning. Zoro jumped at the sudden outburst and then frowned.

"Yeah… music." he muttered. Luffy gave Zoro another innocent smile and Zoro raised an eyebrow. He eyed Luffy for a moment and then looked around as the door dinged and he stepped out into the loud noise of the shopping complex.

"Now, Luffy, I haven't known you for very long, but, when I say don't leave my side, I'm serious. This place is packed and the cd store has at least a hundred, hundred and fifty customers at one time. So, here's the plan, the cd store is on the other side of this level, so, we'll get you some food on the way around and then, at the store, I have to work so you have to be silent and still. Alright?" Zoro asked.

"OKAY!" Luffy cheered and Zoro blinked and then gave a short nod.

"Right. Come on then, and stay with me." Zoro said and he glanced quickly around the level, people swarming about and kids screaming when they didn't get their way. _Too many damn druggo's out there. _He thought.

"Oki doki." Luffy replied and then the two set off. Luffy looked around, a hand on his hat as he tried to take everything in at once. _Wow… this is really awesome. _He thought as he looked. Zoro glanced down at Luffy and noticed the awed look on the boy's face. He blinked and shook his head as he buried his hands into his pockets.

_What is he so excited about? You'd swear he'd never seen a shopping centre before. Christ, hope he doesn't decide to jump through the hole in the centre. Oh great, now I've thought that, he will. _Zoro thought and then glanced nervously at Luffy beside him.

_Wow… shopping centres are really great! I wonder why I've never been in one… oh yeah. Ace said I'd be distracted by all the food. _Luffy thought as he looked around, not realizing that Zoro was watching him.

"Hey Luffy…" Zoro asked, noticing the kid was off in dreamland, "Oi! Wake up!" He still received no reply. "Luffyyyyy." and he reached back and whacked the boy lightly across the back of the head. "Wake up damn you!" Luffy shook his head and looked around.

"Eh? Oh, hi Zoro!" and Luffy gave a laugh.

"We're here you moron." Zoro replied, pointing towards the food shop. Luffy blinked for a moment and then a slow grin spread across his face.

…_uh oh._ Zoro thought.

"FOOOOOOD!" Luffy yelled like a warrior going in battle before bursting into the shop.

"…what have I done?" Zoro muttered before walking into the shop as well. Luffy ran forward, and was knocked left and right by people until he came to a standstill and began looking around. Zoro winced at the amount of people in the restaurant and looked around. He couldn't see anything.

"…crap. Luffy?" he asked, hoping the boy would hear him, though, with all the noise that was going on, that wasn't very likely. Luffy was currently looking around, trying to find the object of his desire.

"Hmm… where's the food?' and he got up on tiptoe but still couldn't see anything. "Meeh, I'm lost." Zoro looked around again, pushing his way between people to try and find his ward.

"Stupid kid. Luffy?" he called, once again hoping the boy would respond. Although he would never admit it, even under torture, he was worried about Luffy.

Looking around the room, which was seething like an ants nest, Zoro frowned. He was never going to find Luffy in this. Luffy was in fact, only standing a few feet away and he was looking around a little concerned.

"Hey," Luffy asked, stopping a random man in a worn out cloak. He had ruggish hair and looked like he hadn't had a decent feed in all his life. "Do you know where the food is?" and he grinned.

"Why… yes." the man replied, a sly smile on his face. Luffy grinned, unaware of what was about to befall him. Zoro couldn't see Luffy anywhere. He stopped a girl who was walking past. She was about sixteen and her eyes nearly popped out when she had seen the guy stopping her.

"Hey, have you seen a kid come through here? He's about here high," and Zoro put a hand under his chin to indicate Luffy's height, "Black hair, red shirt, straw hat? Seen him?" The girl thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Nope. Sorry. Like your hair colour though. It's unique." and she gave him a smile before walking off.

_Why are all the hot guys always gay? _She thought as she walked off. Zoro blinked after her and then shook his head.

"…Okay." he muttered before looking around again. Luffy followed the man out of the shop and then down a side alley he had never seen before. It was dark, and deserted down here.

_Well, this is a weird place to sell food. _Luffy thought as he followed. Zoro turned around as he saw Luffy walk out of the shop, following some random guy.

"…oi!' he called but found he had no free path to the door.

"Hey mister, I don't think you're going the right way." Luffy said as they walked further down the alley. The man smiled,

"Of course." he replied.

"…" Luffy blinked. Zoro finally managed to free himself from the crowd and burst out the door, looking around wildly. And this was the day he hadn't brought his food.

"Luffy!" he called and turned to see Luffy going around a corner further down the alley. Zoro hurried down it.

Luffy paused and looked around.

"I think you are lying. I want food!" he yelled, a frown on his face. The man frowned as well as he turned around.

"Hm. Look. All you gotta do is deliver something to someone, and then you get food." he replied. Luffy blinked.

"Really?" he asked. "What do I deliver?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just make sure the person gets it and pays for it. Okay?" the man asked and began to walk forward again. Luffy followed for a moment before stopping.

"I refuse." he said and turned his head away.

"What?"

"I want food NOW! I refuse!" Luffy yelled. The man glared at him.

---

Zoro ran around the corner and stopped. He looked around and his face changed from one of annoyance, to severe concern.

"Luffy?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Luffy, no no go after bad guy! Whee, had to add a cliffie in there. Hey, what are you doing with those extremely dangerous looking knives? friends?... pals?... oh darn. -runs away-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again all. We managed to make another chapter this week even though I was sick! yay! -Does a weird little dance- Hope you all like it!**

**--------**

_**Chapter 5**_

Luffy blinked at the man's back as he walked. The man had assured him that he would get food, and Luffy, after much yelling and rather pointed glaring, had decided that he would follow this guy for a little longer.

"Hey, weird dude, I don't even know your name." Luffy asked as he walked. The man in front of him snorted.

"You don't need to know. But, let's just call me Billy for now, shall we?" he replied.

"I don't like people like you." the boy announced. The man in front of him stiffened.

"And what are you going to do about it?" he asked. Luffy's brows furrowed.

"That's it! I'm gonna go and find the food by myself!" Luffy yelled and turned around. Billy leapt forward and grabbed Luffy by the wrist.

"Oh no you don't!" he yelled.

---

Zoro, who was still standing in the one spot, and beginning to look a little desperate, turned as he heard the yells echoing back to him.

"Luffy…" he muttered before taking off in the direction of the disturbance.

---

"HEY!" Luffy cried out, twisting his wrist but Billy wasn't letting go anytime soon. The boy's eyes narrowed and he swung around in an arc and slammed his fist into the bigger man's jaw. Billy let out a loud scream of pain and stumbled backwards, letting Luffy's wrist go as he did so. Luffy watched as Billy tripped over an old crate and hit the ground hard.

"He went down like a bag of potatoes… speaking of. Now for food!" Luffy cried, grinning, and he turned around, prepared to start his search. Just as he turned, a figure raced around the corner and slammed straight into him.

"Whoa!" Luffy yelled and grabbed onto his hat as he flew backwards. Zoro, who was of course, now lying on top of Luffy, looked around and saw 'Billy' lying against the wall. The swordsman blinked.

"Uh… what happened?" he asked. Luffy blinked as Zoro rolled to the side.

"Oh! Hia Zoro! … hm, well, he wouldn't tell me where the food was, then I tried to find it myself but he stopped me and I punched his face in." Luffy explained, grinning proudly. Zoro blinked back at the small boy disbelievingly.

"You… punched his face in?" and Zoro looked at the guy again and then shrugged, "Eh, he shoulda known better than to come between you and your food." and he stood up, brushing the front of his clothes off as he did so, "Who the hell was he anyway?" and he crossed his arms, waiting for Luffy to reply. The boy tilted his head.

"…I don't know!" he replied and grinned. Zoro sighed and pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead.

"Well that's just great. Come on, let's get out of here before you get me arrested." Luffy blinked and then jumped up.

"Okay!" he cried and followed, all ideas of food forgotten in favour of watching his newfound friend. Zoro stuck his hands into his pockets as he walked along an alleyway.

"Any idea where we are?" Luffy blinked and looked around, scrutinising the area with narrowed eyes. Zoro waited patiently.

_He looks like he knows. I have no idea. _

"NOPE!" Luffy declared and Zoro almost fell over. Well what a waste of five seconds that was. Zoro sighed.

"Well, then I guess we're screwed cos' I have no idea either." he said. Luffy chuckled behind him and he looked around at the boy.

"Zoro's funny." Luffy announced. Zoro blinked.

"I was serious." he said. Luffy tilted his head and smiled.

"So was I." he replied. Zoro's eyes drooped and he turned away.

_I'm stuck with a complete loony here. _He thought.

"Come on kid, maybe if we wander enough we'll find our way out of here." he said aloud, more to himself than to Luffy. Luffy shrugged.

"Hm okay." and he followed. There was silence as they walked and Zoro really didn't care that they were lost. It was kind of nice just wandering around with Luffy humming merrily beside him.

Until the humming became merry singing that was just a tad out of tune… okay, so it was a lot out of tune and Zoro's ears were really starting to hurt after ten minutes of putting up with it.

"So, why do you reckon that guy destroyed your house?" he asked. Luffy's singing was cut short and he blinked up at the swordsman as they walked.

_Conversation is better than out of tune singing. _Zoro thought as he waited for a response.

"He's an idiot, that's why." Luffy replied and continued walking. Zoro blinked. That was an answer he hadn't expected.

"… well, there must be some other reason. I mean, come on, he destroyed your house." and he looked down at Luffy again, hoping to get more of an answer this time. Luffy shook his head.

"He destroyed it because he felt like it. So, he's an idiot right?" and he forced out a smile.

…_stupid crocodile guy. _Luffy thought privately. Zoro raised an eyebrow, a little unnerved by how the boy was acting. It was totally out of character to what he was used to… or semi-used to. Luffy's outbursts and sudden yells of meat over the last few days had been a little scary.

"Right… you sure that's it?" he asked.

"Yep!" Luffy responded and grinned. Zoro shrugged and let the matter drop.

"Ok." he replied. _There's more to this than meets the eye. _He thought. They turned another corner and Zoro could have sworn he had seen that trashcan before. He was about to say something when Luffy began humming another song.

"_The islands in the south, _

_Are warm,_

_Paina-purupuru, _

_Their heads get really hot, _

_And they're all idiots. _

_The islands in the North, _

_Are cold,_

_Hyakkoi-koikoi,_

_Their heads shiver all around,_

_And they're all idiots!_" he sang. Zoro blinked. At least this song wasn't driving him insane like the last one. He shrugged.

"What are you singing?" he asked.

"_The islands in the ves_- …hm? Oh! Nothing!" and he chuckled to himself as though he had made a private joke. Zoro shook his head, a little confused and a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"What is it with you? I ask you something and you avoid it, but when you ask me something, I have to answer…" he asked. Luffy stared at him.

"Huh? There's nothing wrong with me… I think. Is there something wrong with me?" and he looked down at himself. Zoro sighed, seeing that Luffy was either avoiding the question again, or, Luffy was just plain dumb.

He would have said the latter, but, some of the things Luffy said or did, seemed to show a little bit of seriousness that the swordsman wouldn't have expected.

"Forget about it. Geeze. You can be such a baka." he commented. Luffy grinned and chuckled. Zoro sighed and stopped again, looking around a little desperately.

"Man, I have no idea where the hell we are going, where the hell we have been, or what the hell I am even doing here!" he growled in a frustrated tone.

"So, you're lost then!" Luffy announced with a large grin. Zoro's mouth twisted.

"Don't have to be so dramatic about it, but yes… we're lost. Happy now?" he asked and went back to looking around. Luffy grinned rather cheekily.

"Yeah." and he looked around as well. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he saw something that reminded him of a cloak, flapping in the wind. He blinked and it was gone.

_Meh, why not check it out? _He thought and turned to walk away. Zoro sighed, not noticing the boy's absence.

_This is so boring. Bet I'll never get out of here…_ He thought. Meanwhile, Luffy had stalked up to the place where he thought he had seen that strange vision.

"Hm… where did it go?" he muttered and began searching the area. Zoro began to walk forward, his mind focused on trying to find a way out of the area. Luffy disappeared behind a corner.

"Nothing here?" he asked the air. Zoro moved forward and then paused as he didn't hear the second set of steps behind him.

"Luffy?" he muttered. The boy was currently still searching the area. He sighed when he didn't find anything.

"…nhh, thought it looked like… meh, whatever." and he turned to head back to the spot where he had last seen his friend, "Zoro? …nn, now where did he go?" The swordsman was growling low in his throat, just around the corner. But he didn't hear Luffy's voice.

"Where the hell did that kid go now? I swear, instead of green I'm gonna have grey hair soon." and he looked around some more.

"Oh well, I'm just going to have to find him then!" he announced and then turned and walked in the exact opposite direction of where Zoro was. The swordsman blinked at the voice and walked back around the corner, but didn't see anything.

"Oi, kid, where'd you go?" he asked aloud. Luffy, who was just around the corner, turned and poked his head around again.

"Oh, HIA ZORO!" he announced and bounced around the corner. Zoro frowned.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked, _You had me worried. _Luffy thought a moment, finger on his chin.

"Hm, around that corner, on the left side of the trashcan… or was it the right…hm, anyway, and behind a rotten house and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Zoro sighed, cutting the boy off, "Let's go shall we?"

"Yep!" Luffy cried and grabbed Zoro by the wrist, dragging him forward.

"Gah!" Zoro yelled as he was jerked after the wayward boy. They walked for a while again in silence until Luffy's stomach rumbled.

"Ah! I almost forgot! …I'm hungry." and he let out a plaintive whine.

"Well there's nothing I can do about it until we get the hell out of this weird fucking maze!" Zoro growled, thoroughly annoyed at his loss of direction.

"Nrrrrgh." Luffy pouted. Zoro sighed, now annoyed at himself for yelling at Luffy like that. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong. He sighed.

"Come on." and he walked forward again, hands in his pockets. Luffy pouted sadly.

"Okay." he replied and padded silently after the taller man. Zoro frowned.

_I shouldn't have been so mean. _He silently thought as Luffy walked behind, head bowed. It was silent again except for Luffy, who had apparently gotten over his silence enough to start humming, '99 bottles of beer on the wall'. The boy had just reached 76 bottles when Zoro blinked as he spotted a road. Could they really have found their way out?

"Oh thank god for that." He muttered, _One more damn chorus of 'bottles on the wall' and I would have gone insane. _

"Yay! A road!" and he ran past Zoro towards it, just as a car flew past, "WHOA!" and he was spun around by the slipstream and he fell backwards onto his butt in the dirt. Zoro hurried forward, his face stricken.

"Luffy you idiot! You could have been hit by that car!" he yelled as he helped the boy up, he grabbed onto Luffy's shoulders and looked the boy up and down, making sure he was alright, "Moron." he sighed. Luffy laughed.

"Haha! That was fun!" he cried. Zoro frowned and let the boy go, his eye twitching slightly.

"You… are a complete and total idiot. If you want to get yourself killed that badly, then bugger off!" and he turned angrily on his heel and walked away. Luffy blinked, a little shocked by the outburst. He had only been having a little fun, but, fun to him sometimes seemed like idiocy to others.

"Eh? But only silly people kill themselves." and he ran after Zoro and then latched onto the taller's arm, "I'll try to be more careful next time, ne?" Zoro stiffened and looked down at Luffy, who was gazing up at him with an expression like a wounded puppy.

_His eyes are too damn big, and all… goofy… and nice, and brow- Gah! _and he shook his head.

"Whatever… let's just go home okay?" he asked. Luffy smiled and leaned his head against Zoro's shoulder for a moment.

"Okay." he responded, _Zoro's so nice. He's my best friend ever… I don't want to leave… _and his smile faded a little. Zoro sighed as Luffy began his song again as he tried to cheer himself up.

"…_the islands in the south, _

_Are warm," _He sang. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"_Paina-purupuru,_

_Their heads get really hot, _

_And they're all idiots!" _And he chuckled, still latched on Zoro's arm. The swordsman found he didn't mind that so much, it was the song that was starting to tick him off.

_Please, let me get home soon… _He thought. Luffy yawned and Zoro looked down at him.

"What, are you tired now?" he asked.

"No…" Luffy replied and yawned again. Zoro smiled slightly.

"Oh, yawning is something you do on a regular basis then?"

"Huh?" and Luffy blinked, trying to will away the sleep that was trying to take him over.

"…never mind." Zoro replied, _This kid is mentally exhausting. _Luffy sighed.

"Okay." and he leaned a little harder against the swordsman, who didn't really notice as Luffy was that light anyway. Zoro paused.

"Hey… there's home there… and I didn't even get to work. Aw crap, I'm gonna get fired for sure." and he sighed.

"Eh… sorry." Luffy apologised, feeling a little guilty. Zoro paused again and then shook his head.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I didn't like that job anyway." he replied, _Or the money. That was horrid pay. _

"Hm, okay." Luffy said and looked around. Zoro sighed as he noticed Luffy and then he noticed a yawn creeping up on him.

"Hn, I could use a good sleep. Quite an adventure we had today, eh?" he asked and chuckled. Luffy smiled as he rubbed his head and nodded. Zoro yawned again.

_My head is weird today. _Luffy thought and then noticed his stomach rumbling again and he placed a hand over it, "Hey Zoro, Do you think Sanji is home yet?"

"Dunno. Probably. If he is, the asshole would just be dying to tear my ass up about taking you out of the house… hey, are you alright? You look a little pale." Luffy grinned back at him.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I'm always okay." and he looked back down at the road again, his smile fading as quickly as it had come. Zoro watched him for a moment and then looked back ahead at the house. He felt a tug on his arm and then it was released and he looked around to see Luffy splayed out on the ground behind him.

"Luffy!" he called and then hurried back to him and kneeled down by the boy's side. He turned him over and saw that he was still awake.

"I'm okay Zoro… just… tired I guess." the boy said before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Zoro sighed.

"I should have just left you at home. Would have made everything easier… on both of us." and then he easily lifted the boy into his arms and quickly carried him to the house. He opened the door and then remembered that his bike was back at the parking lot.

"Oh damn." he muttered as he walked in, Luffy hanging limply in his arms, "Oi! Sanji! Usopp, Nami! Someone!" he called. The blonde haired chef's head was poked out the door of the kitchen, a scowl on his face.

"What's up with the kid?" he asked. Zoro shrugged.

"I don't know. He said he was tired and then fainted. Here, I need to go back to the centre and get my bike." the swordsman said as Sanji walked out.

"Why did you leave it there?" the chef asked as he gently took Luffy from Zoro's arms.

"I didn't. Luffy nicked off after some guy, we got lost, and then wandered around and ended up back here." he responded as he was about to step out the door.

"…Zoro…" Luffy moaned from Sanji's arms. The chef blinked down at the boy and the swordsman paused and turned back to look at his friend.

"I'll be back in about twenty minutes. Look after him. I don't think he feels to well." Zoro ordered and then closed the door. Sanji sighed.

"Idiot…" he muttered and then took Luffy back upstairs.

---

Zoro parked the bike beside the house and glanced at his watch.

"Five. We must have been wandering around for at least two and a half hours. Didn't realise it was that long." he muttered as he swung off the bike and chained it to the small bar that was cemented in the ground especially for his use. He sauntered back to the door and into the house.

"Ha! I win Usopp!" Luffy's voice echoed down the corridor. Zoro looked up as he shut the door and slid his shoes off. He walked up to the lounge room door and looked in to see Usopp and Luffy sitting on the floor, playing on the x-box.

"It's a car game." Sanji said from behind him, making the swordsman jump.

"Yeah… I see that. Is he alright?" he asked in return. Sanji shrugged.

"I don't know. He woke up about ten minutes after you left and said he was fine and bounded downstairs. I let him play Usopp's game thing because he was annoying the crap out of me. Usopp only just got home though." Sanji explained. Zoro nodded.

"Thanks…" he muttered and walked into the room, leaving Sanji to wryly smile at his back before walking back to the kitchen. Zoro slid into the couch and Luffy looked around.

"ZORO!" he cried and dropped the controller before bouncing onto the couch next to the swordsman and smiling happily into the older man's face.

"Hey Luffy. You obviously feel better. Ten minutes of sleep all you need then?" Zoro asked with a smile. Luffy chuckled.

"I slept all morning, silly. So did you! And yeah, I feel great!" he replied. Zoro nodded.

"That's good. You had me a little worried there kiddo." he said and Luffy chuckled again.

"Don't have to worry about me. Hey, wanna play a game?" he asked, pointing excitedly at the x-box. Usopp was watching them both, his face expressionless but, it was apparent the younger man was trying to hide a smile. Zoro sighed.

"Just one I guess." and he slid onto the floor, Luffy doing the same beside him. Chopper ran into the room and bounced onto the swordsman's legs before settling down in the crook of his knee. Zoro blinked down at the cat.

"He likes you! Yay!" Luffy cried and Zoro raised an eyebrow before running a hand over the cat's soft fur and then picking up a controller.

"I'm gonna go and help Sanji." Usopp said and then walked out of the room. Luffy shrugged and went back to the screen.

"I'm gonna beat you Zoro." the boy announced as the game started. Zoro grinned.

"Don't bet on it kid." he responded.

------

**And that's it. For this chapter anyways. Those two are always getting lost and in trouble. Silly boys. -shakes head- Well, reviews would be very much appreciated please! Don't make me beg, please? -gets on her knees- Pleeeeeeease. Would it help if I danced? **

**Meh. I'm over it. -waves- see ya next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**G'day again guys! Yay, we updated in a week! -pats Shiru on the back- We make a good team, yes? Well, without further ado, I present to you, the sixth chappie of Irresistible!**

**---------------**

_**Chapter 6**_

Zoro stared blankly at the car on the tv screen in front of him, hardly able to believe the blinking sign on his section. Loser, loser, loser, it flashed over and over again above his car.

"YOSH! I win again!" Luffy cried, throwing both hands in the air. Zoro snapped out of his daze and then snapped his head around to look at Luffy in disbelief.

"Huh? You must have cheated! No one can win fifteen times in a row like that." and Zoro frowned and crossed his arms, his lips bordering on a pout. Luffy chuckled.

"I can! I can kick anybody's ass!" the boy cried, a wide grin on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. It's a stupid game anyway…" Zoro huffed in return. Luffy stopped his celebrations to turn and look at Zoro with an angry pout.

"No it's not." and Luffy crossed his arms as well. Zoro, who still had the controller in his hand, under his crossed arms, began pressing harder on the plastic than was necessary, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too busy sulking.

"…is."

"Is not!" Luffy yelled, becoming very offended. Zoro raised an eyebrow and glared at Luffy.

"Is!" and as Zoro pressed harder again on the controller, there was an audible crack, but the two didn't seem to notice. They were too busy glaring at each other, noses inches apart and eyes boring into the other's.

"Is Not!" Luffy cried as he hugged his own controller to his chest.

"Is!" and there was an even louder crack as the controller Zoro was holding, broke in half, "…crap." Luffy stared at the parts that now littered the floor and gasped.

"You broke the game!" he cried.

"Damn plastic crap… I didn't mean to!" Zoro replied as he picked up a screw and a button and looked at them angrily, as if it was their fault the control had broken. Luffy fell forward on to the floor and began sulking.

Zoro had broken the game, and now there would be no more playing! That was worth sulking over… in Luffy's opinion anyway. Zoro watched him for a moment and then raised an eyebrow.

"Luffy… there's another controller." he said. Luffy's head shot up and he turned to Zoro with a happy grin.

"Really?" he asked. Zoro was about to nod in return when Sanji sauntered in. The chef stopped in the doorway and took a puff of his cigarette, blew it out, and then spoke,

"Nami's not gonna be happy about that." he said, indicating towards the small pile of broken parts on the floor. Zoro twisted around and glared.

"She can go to hell!" he snarled. Sanji shrugged.

"Usopp neither. That was his favourite controller." the chef continued. Luffy's face became sad in the background.

"…Zoro's in trouble." he muttered.

"You bet I am." the swordsman replied in an equally soft voice. And, as if on cue, Nami walked in casually.

"Hey, what's going-" and she paused at the sight of the broken controller. Her face darkened and she frowned, making Zoro frown right back, "You owe me a hundred bucks Zoro! I bought that for Usopp for his birthday!" and she gritted her teeth and walked out to the kitchen. Zoro's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Hundred bucks? It's only worth fifty!" he yelled as he jumped to his feet. Sanji smiled smugly.

"…told ya so." the chef commented. Zoro glared at him while Luffy was panicking about how he had gotten Zoro into trouble. He hadn't meant to, but it _had _been Zoro who had broken the controller, but then, Luffy had won the game so many times, and…

"Well, with interest," and Nami paused a moment to hum in thought, "of course. I know you're not going to be able to pay for a while." she replied from the kitchen. Zoro sighed.

"That's a lot that." Luffy muttered from where he was sitting, his eyes wide. Zoro turned on him.

"Ya think Luffy? And without a job…" and then he slapped a hand over his mouth as Nami poked her head back into the room.

"HAH! I told you, you wouldn't hold onto that job for long! Just makes it harder for you to pay, doesn't it?" and with a smug smile, she left again. Zoro blinked, a little unnerved by Nami's outburst.

"She's weird…" he said. Sanji's temper instantly flared.

"Don't you insult my wonderful Nami swaaaan!" he cried. Zoro frowned.

"Aw, go to hell." the swordsman responded.

"So, what did you do this time? Insult a customer?"

"That only happened once!"

"Twice… by my count."

"Fine! But it's none of your business anyway, so fuck off!" Zoro yelled and crossed his arms, turning away from both Luffy and Sanji to face the wall.

"Zoro lost his job because we got lost." Luffy announced and Zoro stiffened before looking down at the boy, who looked back at him innocently, not realizing what he had just done.

"Ha! You fucked up Marimo. Can't find you way out of your own damn room…" and the chef walked away, howling with laughter. Zoro frowned and glared after Sanji before sighing.

"Thanks Luffy…" he muttered, defeated. Luffy tilted his head.

"What? It's only gonna be worse if you lie. Sorry about losing your job though…" and the boy looked at the floor, idly tracing the pattern of the carpet with his finger. Zoro shook his head and shrugged.

"Never mind. You are right though. They would have found out eventually anyway. Man, I'm bored." and he sat down in the couch. Luffy brightened.

"Yosh! Let's go play with Usopp!" the boy cried, getting up and waving his fists in the air. Zoro groaned.

"Why?"

"…because Usopp is fun!" and Luffy grinned.

_Usopp is a pain and a liar… and boring…_Zoro thought, "I think I'm gonna go clean my swords. You go play with Usopp." Luffy pouted.

"Nawww…meh, whatever." and he grinned before racing towards the kitchen, "Hey Sanji, do you know where Usopp went?" and he skidded to a stop in the doorway.

"No idea where he went. I _think _he went to his art-class. If he did, he'll be back in an hour or so." Nami answered. Sanji shook his head.

"Sorry to contradict you my lovely, but, Usopp's class was cancelled. The teacher rang up before." the chef said. Nami nodded and then looked down at the book on the table. She blinked before looking back at Luffy again.

"By the way Luffy, did you get your school books before your house got wrecked?" she asked. Luffy blinked and then bowed his head.

"No, I forgot." he replied. Nami groaned.

"Well, I guess we'll have to find you new books then. School's tomorrow you know." and Luffy nodded. Meanwhile, outside, Zoro was sneaking past. Having heard Nami mention buying Luffy new books, the swordsman had tried to hurry past, hoping not to be roped into helping.

"Nawww, school is boring." the boy muttered.

"Zoro!" the orange haired girl called, seeing the flickering shadow in the wall, "You'll help him find some books tomorrow, okay? We can't today, it's too late, and it's a Sunday anyway."

"Anyway Luffy, just go upstairs and find Usopp's room. It has every anime poster in the world on it so you can't miss it." the chef stated as he chopped up some vegetables. Luffy brightened and nodded.

"Okay!" he cried before zipping out of the room, past Zoro and heading for the stairs. Zoro stumbled and then frowned, annoyed that he had been discovered so easily. He glared at his shadow as he headed back towards the kitchen door.

"Why do I gotta do it?" the swordsman asked as he leaned against the door frame, one arm extended over his head and leaning against the wood.

"Because you're his…" and Sanji turned to him with a sly smile, "_boy friend." _

"Gah? What the hell are you talking about?" Zoro asked, jumping backwards out of the doorway and blushing like mad. Why he was blushing, he had no idea. It wasn't like he did actually like the kid…

"Don't play dumb. You've done nothing but spend every waking moment together ever since you met him." Sanji returned, "And besides… you're blushing."

"So what? What if we have? It's Luffy who has attached himself to _me!_" the swordsman cried in his defence. Sanji's sly smile returned.

"Sure… sure." and he turned back to the vegetables and the now bubbling pot beside him. Zoro growled and seriously considered walking over there and dumping the boiling water over Sanji's 'pretty boy' head.

"What ever. I have things to do and I have a job to take care of. And don't forget Zoro, you owe me a hundred bucks. Or do you want the price to rise?" she asked dangerously, closing her book with a sharp 'snap'. Luffy's clumping footsteps on the stairs were head, soon followed by a resounding,

"USOPP!" which caused Zoro to wince at the boy's loud voice. Sanji didn't even seem to notice in the kitchen.

"I shall have your dinner ready very soon gorgeous!" the chef cried. One could almost imagine the sparkles and love hearts that seemed to stream from the now swooning man. Zoro rolled his eyes and Nami sighed.

"Yeah, what ever." and she walked out.

Luffy looked around upstairs, a little confusedly before he spotted the door.

"What is it Luffy?" Usopp asked, poking his head out of said door and frowning.

"Hey, hey. Wanna play?" the boy called happily as he bounded over. Usopp sighed.

"Not now Luffy, I'm doing some sketches for Kaya. Maybe later, okay?" he asked before moving to close the door again.

"Awwwww." Luffy moaned, pouting, "When is it later, Usopp?"

"More than an hour at least." the boy replied, the door still open a crack. Luffy fell to the floor.

"Aaaaah. That's a long time to wait." he whined.

Zoro walked up the stairs, muttering dark curses about shitty cooks and orange haired harpies. As he walked into his room, he realised it had been a fair while since he had been in here. Since Luffy had come to stay really, and as he thought this, his brain began to pump out thoughts that had never occurred to him before.

"Hnh…" he hummed before spotting his swords that were leaning against the wall, "swords." and he went over and picked them up. He walked back and sat down on his bed, reaching over to the small bedside table and opening the top draw, where his cleaning cloth and the solvent was.

He slid Wadau out of it's sheath and laid the other two carefully on the bed. The shining surface of Kuina's sword glinted up at him as he laid it down on his lap. Zoro picked up the cloth, tipped a little of the solvent onto the fabric, but paused as he thought about what Sanji had said.

_Boyfriend? Every waking moment together? We haven't spent that much time together… have we? _He thought and then bit his lip before pressing the cloth down firmly against the steel and rubbing at it's surface.

---

"Meh…" Luffy muttered and whined in his throat again. Usopp, who was in the room, sighed.

"You can come and look if you're so bored." he said. Luffy brightened.

"Really?" he asked and Usopp smiled at the look of pure innocence and excitement that crossed his friend's face.

"Sure." he replied and Luffy leapt up from his splayed out position to go running into Usopp's room with a battle cry of,

"YAAAAY!" and he looked around. The room wasn't that big, but the walls were covered by pictures and posters and god knows what else. Actually, as Luffy looked around, he was reminded a little of his own room.

Once the boy had finished 'ooing' and 'ahhing' at everything, he sat himself down in a comfortable position on the floor and began humming in a bored tone. Usopp frowned before placing his pencil down and then picking up a piece of paper and a pen.

"Here, you draw too." he said and handed them to Luffy.

"YAAY!" and Luffy set to work. He began with a shape that, to Usopp, looked like a mutated sheep. He raised an eyebrow but continued watching until Luffy sat back and tilted his head before grinning.

"DONE!" he cried, startling Usopp even though the marksman had been watching. Luffy held the picture in the air both proudly, and dramatically.

"…a dot, with sheep's wool?" Usopp asked, taking a wild guess. Luffy pouted.

"No. You're stupid." and he stuck out his tongue, "It's Zoro and me, see? And there's Chopper too," and he poked a brown lump that had two large, misshapen, red things that could have only been taken for eyes… or internal organs. But that thought made Usopp a little sick, so he stuck with the eyes idea.

"…Okkkaaaayyy." he said.

"I'm gonna go show Zoro!" Luffy announced and jumped up before running out the door. Usopp shook his head and returned to his drawings.

---

Zoro slid Sandai Kitetsu back into it's sheath and then placed them carefully against the small bedside table. He leaned back against his pillow and pulled his legs up onto the bed, crossing them at the ankles.

This action caused his jeans to pull up a little and reveal twin scars around the tops of his ankles, but Zoro didn't really care. He had too many scars to count. Price to pay for what he had once been.

But, he hadn't done anything like that since his partner, Kuina, had died, quickly followed by his other two partners, Johnny and Yosaku. He missed them. Zoro crossed his arms behind his head and gazed at the ceiling, wondering what they were doing.

Could they be watching him right now? Zoro shook his head and rubbed his sleeve over his face, refusing his eyes the opportunity to even think about crying. He didn't cry. He was tough… or so he told himself.

But at times, he was sure he had acted in a totally different way to what he was trying to portray himself as. Like, when he had saved Luffy. He could have ran out of the house and left the stupid boy to die… but he didn't, and it was things like that, that made him wonder.

Was he really such a bad person after all?

---

Luffy looked around in the hallway.

"If that one was Usopp's door, and that one to the left was my room then… that orange door must be Nami's, that black door must be Sanji's and the green door… AHA!" and he ran towards the door and poked his head in, "ZORO!"

"Gah!" and the swordsman jumped, accidentally rolled over and then fell face first onto the floor, "…ow." Luffy paused in the doorway and blinked.

"Did I say something funny?" he asked. Zoro snorted into the carpet before sitting up and rubbing his nose.

"Nope. I just decided I would fall on my nose… again." the swordsman returned. Luffy chuckled.

"Zoro's weird." and he bounced in and held the picture directly in front of Zoro's face, "Lookie! Usopp let me draw with his magic pencils." and he grinned proudly. Zoro raised an eyebrow at the picture that was making his head ache it was that close to his face. He pushed it gently backwards a little so he could get a better look at it and then blinked.

"It's, err, nice." Zoro said unsurely, "Why don't you explain to me what it is?"

"Nawww. Can't you see? It's me," and he pointed to a line with a yellow streak across the top of it, "Zoro," and he pointed to the dot with sheep's wool, " and Chopper." and he pointed to the demented lump that looked more like mud than the cat. But Luffy grinned happily none the less. Zoro squinted.

"Oh!" and he laughed a little nervously, "the little brown thing is Chopper… obviously." and the cat ran into the room with a loud,

"Meow!"

"Yeah!" and he grinned, pleased that Zoro had figured it out, "Oh hey, Chopper!" and he picked up the cat and hugged it close to his chest. Chopper mewed again and then began purring. Zoro sighed as he got back onto the bed.

_Wonder if Sanji is right? He does hang around me all the time… and unlike everyone else, without him around, I feel… weird, kinda… empty. Strange. And only after two days… _Zoro thought. Luffy giggled and hugged the cat, nuzzling the soft fur with his cheek.

"Come on Chopper! Let's go and ask Usopp if we can draw more, ne?" and he grinned. Zoro looked over as Luffy began to leave.

"Hmmm…?" he asked but received no answer.

"USOPP!" Luffy cried as he let Chopper down and raced for the artist's room. The boy inside the room, cringed. Zoro chuckled.

"Poor Usopp…" he muttered before rolling onto his side, facing the wall, and closing his eyes.

_Luffy is kinda special… _

_---_

Luffy burst into Usopp's room, startling the artist.

"Can I draw some more? I wanna draw only Chopper!" he cried.

"Not if you don't keep quiet." Usopp replied a little angrily. Luffy blinked.

"Eh? I'll keep quiet. Real quiet, okay?" Luffy pleaded, taking his voice down to a whisper. Usopp sighed.

"Okay." he replied. Luffy plomped himself down and Usopp handed him another piece of paper and some more pencils and Luffy set to work. It took him a few minutes to draw his picture, and he finished it with a flick of his wrist.

"YEAH! DONE!" he cried and showed Chopper the picture. The cat looked at it without interest before laying it's head back down on it's paws and going back to sleep.

"Luffy, I told you to keep quiet." Usopp hissed.

"You like it yeah Chopper?" he asked, totally ignoring Usopp's pleas for quiet, "YAY CHOPPER LIKES IT!" and the boy grinned happily.

"That's it." Usopp muttered and he reached down and pulled Luffy to his feet, "Out." and he pushed Luffy out the door and then slammed it, locking both Luffy out and Chopper in. Luffy blinked.

"Awwww." he muttered, still clutching his picture of Chopper. He grinned and ran off, the page fluttering to the floor. Luffy ran to the door of Zoro's room and peeked in. He was about to shout his friend's name, but, he noticed the swordsman was fast asleep and he paused, tilting his head.

_Nawww… he's sleeping._ Luffy thought, watching as Zoro's chest rose and fell gently. Luffy tilted his head again as he felt a weird feeling run through him. He felt… different. Warm, strange.

Like, seeing Zoro like that was something that inspired him to smile and suddenly think that there was something irresistibly cute about the swordsman that he just couldn't explain. Luffy sat down and leaned back against the wall, but he sat at an angle that he could still see Zoro.

_Zoro… you're my best friend. Ever. _And with that final thought, Luffy's eyes closed and he fell asleep.

---------------------------

**There you have it. They think a lot of each other, don't they? Hope you approve of the write-up shiruji! I'll see ya all next time! **


	7. Chapter 7

**-throws confetti around- no idea why I did that. -shrugs- it was fun though. Right shiru? Confetti is fun... **

**--------------------------------------**

_**Chapter 7**_

Sanji opened the door out of the kitchen and moved towards the stairs, his first smoke of the day lit and in his mouth. It was Monday, which meant school, which in turn meant… he had to wake everyone up.

Now, Nami and Usopp he didn't mind. At least they didn't try and skewer him with a sword. Although, the fight between himself and Zoro that always followed the 'waking up' process, was a good relevant of his pent up anger, which was in turn caused by having to wake Zoro up. It was kinda a vicious circle. He went to Nami's door and politely knocked.

"I'm up Sanji, thankyou." Nami replied. Sanji paused a moment to dance on the spot happily before continuing towards Usopp's room. It was then he remembered their newest member and paused outside the newly named 'Luffy's room'. He noticed the opened door and blinked.

"Wonder where that kid is." he muttered before continuing on to Usopp's room, "Oi! Get up kid!" he called.

"I _am_ up Sanji." Usopp's voice returned. Sanji frowned. What the hell was the point of him coming up here then? He sighed and moved towards Zoro's room. At least he would be able to yell at that bastard. Zoro was never up in the mornings. But, there was something unusual waiting outside Zoro's door this morning. Luffy. The boy was asleep against the wall. Sanji blinked and then shook his head.

_What the hell does that kid see in him? _he thought before shrugging and deciding it was better to just leave it and wake them up, otherwise Nami would be upset and he would never want to upset his wonderful Nami. He moved into the room and raised an eyebrow at the swordsman's sprawled out form.

"MARIMO! Wake the fuck up!" he yelled and then walked out again. He would have stayed for the reaction, but from the way Zoro was sleeping, he didn't think there would be a reaction worth waiting for.

As Sanji walked past, he also noticed that Luffy was still asleep. He shrugged again, Zoro could wake the kid up. Wasn't his problem. And with that, Sanji went back downstairs to continue with breakfast. Zoro opened his eyes blearily and looked around. He rubbed his face against the pillow before swinging his legs off the edge of the bed and yawning widely.

"Shitty cook." he muttered as he placed his hands over his face and rubbed. He looked up as there was a thud and noticed Luffy was laying in the doorway. From the looks of him, the boy had been sleeping against the wall outside and had just slid down.

"What the…? Oi! Luffy! Get up kid!" he called but Luffy didn't react. Zoro sighed and got up, stretching as he walked over and kneeled down in front of the boy, "Hey,"

"…meat." Luffy snored. Zoro raised an eyebrow and then shook his head.

"…oi." he said and poked Luffy in the shoulder. There was a pause and then,

"…MESHI!" and he jumped to his feet and looked around before noticing Zoro kneeling at his feet. He blinked. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Why were you sleeping outside my room?" he asked. Luffy blinked and then hummed in thought.

"…I don't know." he replied and then laughed nervously. Zoro shook his head again. He was doing that a lot this morning.

"Are you up yet you stupid bastard?" Sanji's voice echoed up to them. Zoro frowned.

"Yeah yeah!" he responded before standing up again, "Come on Luffy, we have to get ready for school." and he walked out into the corridor. Luffy groaned.

"I don't want to go to school." he mumbled. Zoro paused and looked back at him.

"No one does. Deal with it. Come on, or Nami will have Sanji come up here and kick our asses." and he moved on. Luffy whined but he followed.

"Nami is evil." he muttered. Zoro laughed in front of him.

"I agree totally with you there." and he paused, realizing what was happening, "Why are you following me? Your room is that way," and he pointed back down the hall, "I'm going to the bathroom. You go and get changed." _Stupid kid. _Luffy blinked.

"AHA!" he cried and then ran back down the hall towards his room. Zoro shook his head again.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Sanji's voice echoed up to him again. Zoro growled, starting to get really irritated.

"Fuck you!" he returned and slammed the door to the bathroom. In his room, Luffy changed into a red, long sleeved sweater and a pair of blue shorts. He walked out of his room, looked around and then bolted for the stairs.

As he reached them, he tripped over his own feet and rolled down the stairs… again. He had done that about five times over the last few days. It was really starting to get annoying.

Zoro moved back out of his bathroom and down the corridor to his room to get changed. As he was putting on his black shirt over a pair of dark green pants, he heard a couple of loud thuds on the stairs and blinked before sighing.

"What the hell is going on now?" he muttered. Downstairs, Sanji poked his head out of the kitchen and then blinked when he saw Luffy lying on the floor. The boy shook his head and got up.

"SANJIIII! FOOOD!" he cried, and then spotted the chef. Sanji raised his curly eyebrow and looked the kid up and down.

"Err, you okay?" he asked. Luffy blinked.

"Of course! Now… Food!" he cried. Sanji jumped slightly at the outburst.

"Wha! Holy shit you recover fast. Breakfast will be on the table soon. Hurry up and get in there. Your lateness is annoying my wonderful Nami!" he cried and sighed happily as he finished the sentence. Luffy grinned.

"OKAY! Oh, and Nami is evil." he said. There was a pause and Sanji's eyes darkened. Luffy had insulted Nami, no one insulted Nami, not even Nami insulted Nami.

"Don't you speak about Nami like that! You inconsiderate little bastard! No breakfast for you!" and he walked back into the kitchen and slammed the door.

"Ehhh?" Luffy asked, confused, _Wait a minute… no breakfast! _"BUT SANJIIIIIII!" he cried and pushed a hand against the door. Zoro paused at the top of the stairs and raised an eyebrow.

"What the? Luffy? What the hell is going on with you?" he asked as he walked down. Luffy pushed his other hand against the door and sniffled.

"No fair…" he muttered. Zoro paused as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What's not fair?" he asked.

"Sanji's not giving me breakfast." the boy replied pitifully as he leaned his forehead against the door and then slid down it to the floor, face first against the wood. Zoro blinked.

"Why?" he asked and then moved over and knocked against the door, "Oi, cheese head! Why aren't you giving Luffy breakfast?" Sanji came out of the kitchen, the door swinging inwards and Luffy fell face first into the floor. The two men didn't even notice.

"He called my wonderful Nami evil." Sanji replied and he blew a puff of smoke from his lips. Zoro waved a hand in the air, trying to clear it so he could breathe without coughing.

"It's the truth Sanji…" he replied.

"Shit head! No breakfast for you either! Get the hell to school!"

"Fuck you. Come on Luffy… we can stop and get something to eat from someone who is _willing _to cook for us."

"Oh, you gonna take the kid for a … ride?" and Sanji's mouth lifted in a sly smile. Zoro stiffened and was about to respond when Nami poked her head out of the dinning room door.

"Hey, what's happening out here?" she asked. Luffy spotted her and ran over to cling to her legs.

"Namiiiiii, Sanji won't give us breakfast!" the boy whimpered.

"Eh?" Nami replied and then glared at the chef. Sanji paused.

"He called you evil. So did Zoro." he said and crossed his arms. This time, it was Zoro's turn to pause.

_We're screwed. _He thought. Nami frowned and crossed her arms, Luffy still clinging to her legs.

"So what? I am evil. It's in my nature." she replied as she winked and smirked, "Give them breakfast or they'll be late for school." Luffy brightened, his eyes sparkling.

"REALLY?" he cried. Nami raised an eyebrow and shook her leg, indicating Luffy should let go. The boy did so and jumped to his feet.

"Don't get too excited Luffy." and she walked back into the dinning room again. Zoro blinked and then smiled smugly at Sanji.

"Ha, see, she even admitted it cheese head. You can't deny it now." and he laughed. Sanji rolled his eyes.

"You're an idiot, a fuck head, and I hate your guts." and he moved back into the kitchen. Luffy cheered and dived into the dinning room. Zoro followed him, the smug smile still on his face. Chopper came trotting after them and mewed at their heels.

Where he had come from, no one was really sure but, the cat had a weird way of disappearing and then showing up when no one expected it. Luffy sat down and picked up Chopper and placed him in his lap.

"Wow, Nami is really cool." and he grinned as he patted Chopper's head. Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Hm, weird. Didn't you just say I was evil?" she asked. Luffy looked up and grinned.

"Yeah! Cool and evil!" he replied and then chuckled. Nami shook her head.

"What ever." she muttered. Zoro shook his head and sat down across the table from Luffy.

"Plain evil." he said under his breath so no one heard. Nami picked up the paper and began reading, scanning the pages for anything of interest. Luffy patted Chopper as he waited for the food to come in.

"So, I don't have to take Chopper with me to school today, right?" he asked, looking around the room as he waited for an answer. Usopp walked in and moved over to sit next to Luffy. Zoro looked over, his head resting on his hand.

"He shouldn't have been at school anyway." he replied in a bored tone. Luffy pouted.

"But Chopper is precious. If Chopper gets beaten up, then I'd have to kick the guy's asses. And, I don't want Chopper to get hurt." and he hugged the cat. Zoro nodded.

"Exactly… if Chopper is at school, he could get hurt. Someone could accidentally knock your bag and hurt him." the swordsman said. Sanji walked in at that moment, five plates balanced precariously on his arms but the chef was totally at ease as he walked in.

"Shit head's right Luffy. Chopper could be seriously hurt at school, so, yes, he is to stay home today." the chef said, pausing behind the boy. Chopper meowed from Luffy's lap and the boy patted him with a sad smile. He liked taking Chopper to school, but, Sanji and Zoro were right, and he didn't want his favourite kitty to get hurt.

"Yeah. He can stay here now. He couldn't at home cos' there were openings in the walls so he always ran off." he said and then eyed the plates of food and forgot everything they had just been talking about in favour of yelling, "FOOOOD!" Sanji jumped and moved quickly away from the boy. He placed a beautifully laid out plate of food in front of Nami, who smiled and took up her fork gracefully.

"Wait your turn!" Sanji growled at Luffy before placing a plate in front of Usopp, then a plate in front of Luffy and then last of all Zoro.

"YAHOO!" Luffy cried and then began inhaling the so called 'meshi'. Usopp ignored the boy's rather disgusting display of eating and began doodling on some paper while he ate. Nami continued reading her paper, ignoring Luffy as well as she had gotten used to the boy eating like this already.

Zoro really wasn't interested in anything that was happening outside his own mind at the moment, so he was pretty much out to it as he ate. Sanji was quite happy to ignore Luffy as well… at least, until a speck of food hit him in the cheek. He paused and placed his fork down before glaring across the table at Luffy.

"…bastard, keep your food in your mouth!" he growled. Luffy swallowed the food he had just been chewing with a large gulp and chuckled.

"It's a compliment. He enjoys it so much he thinks you should have some, right Luffy?" Zoro asked, looking up and grinning rather nastily at Sanji, who glared right back as he wiped his cheek with a napkin. Luffy blinked.

"Hm? Oh yeah, Sanji's food is the best!" he cried and grinned. Zoro chuckled and Sanji smiled. A compliment like that was hard to not feel please about. Zoro sighed as he put his elbow on the table, but, his elbow caught the edge of his fork and flicked a lump of food straight at Luffy. The boy's eyes went wide.

"Whaaaaaaa!" he cried. Nami giggled while Usopp tried to hold back a laugh with his hand.

"…" and Luffy blinked, "FOOOD!" he cried. Zoro stared in shock and then he snorted, covering his mouth with his hand as he tried to withhold his laughter as Luffy tried to lick at his own hair.

"I don't," and he laughed, "I don't think you're gonna get it that way." and he burst into laughter. This caused a chain reaction around the table, Nami cracking first and also bursting into laughter.

Usopp was next and he nearly fell out of his chair, and Sanji was last, only because he didn't like seeing food get wasted like that. Luffy laughed with them until everyone had finished and the room was silent again. The boy pouted.

"Now my hair's all messy." he muttered. Nami stood and grabbed a napkin before walking around the table to the boy.

"Well, you don't have time to shower so, this will have to do." and she began wiping at Luffy's hair, removing all the food she could. It took her a while but, by the time she was finished, Luffy's hair was pretty much clean again. She stood back to look at Luffy and then smiled.

"And Zoro, don't forget about getting his books today. Okay?" she asked, glaring at the swordsman. Usopp looked up interestedly.

"Did you leave them in your house Luffy?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did." Luffy replied nodding. Usopp sighed.

"Guess you'll have to look at mine in class then." he said. Luffy brightened.

"See, problem fixed." Zoro said brightly making Nami look at him weirdly. The swordsman frowned again, "I'll get his books after school."

"Lazy bastard." Sanji muttered.

"Oh go to hell." Zoro replied as he stood from the table.

"I'm _in _hell, every time I look at you Marimo." Sanji replied.

"Hope it burns your eyes then." Zoro growled. Luffy chuckled, rather amused by the others antics.

"Don't worry. Why do you think I cover my eyes with my hair?" Sanji asked.

"Cos… you're a fuckhead?"

"Turn around and say that to a mirror." Sanji growled, standing up as well.

"You already cracked all the mirrors in the house."

"Well, my seven years of bad luck punishment must be having to put up with your mossy head!"

"Idiot!"

"Dickhead!" and so they continued, shouting out names that got more vulgar and abusive as they got angrier. Nami looked at the clock and sighed.

"ALRIGHT ENOUGH!" she yelled over them as she balled up both of her fists and crossing her arms she slammed her lethal hands into both men's heads. Zoro and Sanji fell to the floor clutching at their now aching heads.

Nami picked up the plates and moved out of the dinning room and into the kitchen, placing them in the sink before she came back out and grabbed her bag from the hallway.

"Come on! We'll be late." she said as she opened the door. Luffy whined in protest.

"NOW!" Nami yelled.

"Okay!" and Luffy hopped off his chair. Usopp followed as well. Zoro glared at Sanji across the floor and Sanji glared right back.

"I hate you." they said and then got up to walk out. Luffy put his shoes on just inside the door and grabbed his jacket and hat after slinging his bag onto his shoulders. Usopp grabbed his bag from the coat hanger as well and walked out after Nami.

Luffy jumped up and placed his hat on his head before running outside and twirling around. Zoro reached over and grabbed his bike keys, shoes, jacket and bag, Sanji doing the same thing beside him. Both men glared at each other before walking out of the house.

Sanji was last out and he locked the door behind them. Nami glared at Sanji's car, annoyed that she had to always get the chef to drive her places but, it really couldn't be helped so, she just had to suck it up and deal with it. Luffy, while he was twirling, was wondering how he was going to get to school.

_Is Sanji gonna drive me? Meh, being in a car's boring. Sitting on Zoro's bike was fun… _And the boy glanced at Zoro, who was talking to Sanji.

"Hey Sanji, can you give me a ride today? My bike's broke." Usopp said and pointed towards a bicycle sitting in the garage. Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Handle bars fall off again?" Zoro asked. Usopp glared at him and then sighed.

"Yeah." he replied and moved over to the car.

"Zoro, you're gonna have to take Luffy then." Sanji said. Zoro blinked.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Because, Nami needs me to drive her, and Usopp is coming with me as well. Don't forget I have to pick up Vivi and Kaya as well. So there's no room." Sanji replied.

"Fine, whatever, I don't care. Come on Luffy." and he moved over to where his bike was still chained to the bar in the cement.

"YOSH!" Luffy cried and bounced after him. Sanji chuckled and got into the driver's seat of his car. Nami and Usopp got into the car, Nami naturally getting the front passenger seat. Zoro bent down and unlocked the chain that held the bike to the bar.

Luffy bounced up and down on the spot behind him as Sanji turned his car out into the road, beeped the horn and then drove off. Zoro frowned after car as Luffy waved his arm through the air like a windmill.

Once Sanji had gone, Luffy settled down again as Zoro checked his bike over, making sure there was enough fuel, and water in it so they could get to school without breaking down. Not that they would. Zoro prided himself on keeping anything in his possession, in good condition.

_I get to ride a motorbike to school, how cool's that? _And once again, Luffy commenced bouncing up and down. Zoro sighed as he straightened, everything on the bike seemingly okay.

"You-" and he turned to see Luffy bouncing up and down on the spot, "…ready?" he asked. There was a loud meow and Luffy and Zoro turned to see Chopper sitting in the dinning room window, his paws pressed up against the glass.

"Yeah!" Luffy replied before waving at Chopper and then sliding onto the bike. Zoro slid on in front of the boy. Chopper watched for a moment, looking a little dejected that he hadn't been allowed to go with Luffy to school, but then the cat jumped down and was gone from sight. Zoro kick started the bike.

"Oi! Put this on!" and Zoro handed a helmet to Luffy. The boy looked at it for a moment before shrugging and pushing his hat back so it rested against the back of his neck.

"OKAY!" he called and pushed the helmet on. Zoro rolled his eyes as he put on his own helmet.

"I hate these damn things…" he muttered darkly about his helmet before revving the bike. Luffy gave a loud cheer and Zoro blinked before shaking his head, "Why not?" _He does everything else. _"Hold on!" and he turned the bike into the road.

Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist, just as he had done last time and unlike last time, Zoro didn't flinch. Actually, he felt rather comfortable with Luffy's arm around his stomach. It felt… well… nice. Luffy grinned brightly as they zoomed down the street.

_This is fun! _Luffy thought, _Not as fun as having the wind ruffling through my hair, but, I can't with the helmet on. But it's fun all the same! _Zoro was wishing the same thing. But, after nearly getting caught yesterday afternoon without his helmet on, he wasn't going to take any risks.

Getting arrested was something he really had to avoid. He already owed enough money to Nami as it was. Luffy watched as the buildings flashed past on either side of the road. He really didn't feel like going to school today.

The teachers were sure to ask where his books were and Luffy hated talking to teachers. They were so… not understanding. Except Robin, she always understood what Luffy was going through, no matter what. She wouldn't get angry with him.

She was nice, always had been. Luffy really liked Robin. Next to Chopper, and now Zoro, she was one of his favourite people in this town.

_Crap! History test! Oh shit… I didn't study either. How the hell can I get out of this…? _Zoro thought, suddenly realizing why he was feeling so reluctant to go to school today. Luffy was also eyeing the school building, which was visible on the horizon.

"Hey, Luffy, you feel like going to school today?" Zoro asked over the rushing wind. Luffy pouted behind him.

"No." he replied.

"Neither do I." Zoro replied, his hands tightening on the handle bars of the bike. Luffy really didn't want to talk to the teachers.

"Then let's go somewhere else." Zoro said and pulling the handles, he spun the bike around in the opposite direction. Luffy grinned widely.

"YAAAAAAY!" he cheered as they took off down the street. Zoro grinned as well.

"Let's get the hell out of this town!" he yelled as he revved the bike and they flew down the street.

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**And there you have it, another chappie! Yay! Reviews make Shiruji and I very happy ZoLu crazed fans. -blinks and then shrugs- **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the movies mentioned in this story. But I do own a pretty awesome jacket. -grins- **

**Warning: This contains spoilers for Pirates of the Caribbean 2, so, if you haven't seen it (which I am sure everyone should have by now or at least heard about it) then it's probably wise to skip any mentions of PoTC2, k? Hope you enjoy!**

**---------------**

_**Chapter 8**_

Zoro turned the motorbike down another road, Luffy laughing loudly behind him.

_Yeah! No school! Zoro is the best! _Luffy thought as he laughed. Zoro smiled, knowing he really shouldn't be doing this, but he couldn't really care less. School sucked, and that was a true fact. He pushed the bike faster.

Luffy silently wondered where the heck they were going and then laughed, deciding that he didn't really care. Zoro looked over and saw a small corner shop, and reconsidering his current direction, he slowed and pulled over to it. He put his foot down and tilted his ear towards Luffy.

"How about a picnic in the country?" _Only cos I can't think of anything else… wait, _"Or, we could go and see a movie?" Zoro asked. Luffy hummed as he thought.

_Picnic means food, but a movie means food too, and a cool picture thing to watch, picnic in the country sounds a little boring, but then, I could climb trees. What if Zoro doesn't like me climbing trees though? But he suggested it so being in the country must mean climbing trees. -whine- I know!_ Luffy thought and then grinned.

"Both!" he announced, still smiling because he had made such a hard decision.

"…well, I guess we should go to the movies first then. No point doing that when we come back _into _town. School'll be out by then." Zoro reasoned before giving the bike a rev and turning it back out into the road again after checking for oncoming traffic.

"Okay!" Luffy cried and Zoro had to smile. It wasn't often that someone was so enthusiastic about being somewhere with him. Hell, it wasn't even often, more like never. No one ever wanted to be near him, and he was usually the last to be invited when someone _did _go somewhere.

He turned the bike down a road he knew off by heart, and for once in his life, he was sure he couldn't possibly get lost. At least, he hoped he wouldn't… Luffy looked around, watching as houses flicked past and dogs barked.

_This place is really cool. _Luffy thought as they drove. He leaned forward and rested his chin on Zoro's shoulder. The swordsman let his eyes flick backwards in a short glance to see what Luffy was doing.

He was going to say something, but then, thought better of it and instead tried to deny the smile that was trying to overtake his lips, but, it just wasn't working. So he gave in. He noticed a black car with dark, tinted windows coming down the street towards them. He frowned slightly and tilted the bike so it moved slightly out of the way, but the car also moved and was on a one track course, straight for them.

Zoro frowned and moved the bike right off the road and to the side, the car whizzing past and just missing them.

"What the fuck was his syndrome?" the swordsman growled. Luffy shrugged.

"Maybe he was just stupid." he suggested and Zoro shook his head before going back onto the road again. Luffy's face saddened.

_I need to get away from this place. People I love will get hurt. _Luffy thought as he watched the back of Zoro's helmet. He inwardly sighed. They arrived at the cinema without any further near death experiences and Zoro let the bike stop. He slid from the seat and pulled his helmet off, scratching at the top of his head furiously. Luffy chuckled and as he took off his own helmet, also began scratching his head like a monkey.

"Ah, now who's the one scratching his head." Zoro said smugly. Luffy frowned.

"Your fault. You made me itchy by scratching your own head." the boy replied, pouting. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Pfft, whatever." and he hooked the helmet on the front of the bike. Luffy did the same thing and then Zoro bent down and locked the bike up so no one would steal it. As he stood, he pushed his hands into his pockets and led Luffy towards the front of the cinema.

Outside the door, pasted behind large glass walls, were three gigantic posters of different movies. Luffy looked up at them, his mouth open as he considered them.

"X-men 3, Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean two. Which one?" Zoro asked. Luffy hummed and then grinned widely.

"PIRATES!" Luffy screamed. Zoro jumped and then shook his head.

"Should have known." and then he walked into the cinema to the ticket booth where a rather disinterested man was sitting, the headphones in his ears turned up so loud that the music was able to be heard by Zoro as he walked up. The swordsman tapped his fingers against the glass and the guy looked up, rolled his eyes and then pulled one of the headphones out.

"Hey, dude, two tickets to pirates." Zoro muttered, the mellow tone he had used with Luffy, totally gone. Though Zoro didn't notice it, his voice was definitely softer when he addressed Luffy. The man behind the glass in the booth didn't seem too worried though.

"Here," the guy said, pushing the tickets through the small hole at the bottom, "Fourteen bucks."

Luffy waited outside, looking up at the picture of pirates of the Caribbean. He grinned. This was going to be great! Zoro walked back out and grabbed his arm, dragging him inside. He handed Luffy his ticket as they stood in the centre of the empty entrance room to the movies.

"Hey," Zoro said, pausing to look at Luffy's ticket, "there's something written on the back." Luffy blinked.

"Huh? Something on my back?" and he tried desperately to look.

"No stupid, on the back of the damn ticket." Zoro growled, pointing to the piece of paper Luffy was clutching. The boy blinked.

"AHA!" he cried before turning the ticket over and reading the small message. The writing was written in a thin and spidery hand that Zoro remembered seeing before… but he just couldn't pinpoint where he had seen it before.

"It says, 'Remember midnight,' what the hell does that mean?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow. Luffy blinked down at the ticket, his eyes glazing over slightly before he tilted his head.

"What _does _that mean? Weird ticket thingy." and he stuck his tongue out at it. Zoro shrugged.

"Meh, come on. Let's get some food and then we can go in." and he proceeded over to the candy convenor. Luffy grinned as he forgot about the ticket thing.

"YOSH!" he cried and bounced after him.

"Popcorn?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, yeah!" Luffy replied, nodding happily.

"Giant size right?" Zoro asked, his lips quirked in a half smile.

"Mhm." Luffy replied, nodding again.

"Thought so. What drink?"

"Hmmm… Coke!"

"Right… and a coke for me too, you get all that guy?" Zoro asked, turning dark eyes and a frown in the direction of the man behind the candy counter.

"R-r-right." the man stuttered, thoroughly scared at the glare Zoro was giving him. He hurried away to get the stuff, working double time to try and get the scary guy away as quick as possible.

Luffy started to hum a song while he was waiting and Zoro tapped his fingers on the counter, which only served to make the man move faster and throw nervous glances in his direction. Zoro didn't even notice, in fact, he didn't really care.

The man placed everything on the counter, the bucket of popcorn and the two cups of coke, Luffy grabbing one and sticking a straw in it before taking a gigantic slurp of it. Zoro raised an eyebrow before grabbing his own and slapping down the right amount of money before walking off. Luffy grabbed a handful of his popcorn and handed his ticket to the lady standing at the entrance to the theatre. Zoro did the same and took a drink of his own coke.

"Hey, if you eat all that now, you're not gonna have any for the movie." Zoro commented as they moved inside.

"So? I'm gonna be watching the movie then anyway, ne?" Luffy asked with a large grin. Zoro paused as he thought about Luffy's reasoning and then shrugged.

"Right, I guess." he replied. They looked around and Zoro walked off as he found a seat at the back of the cinema. Luffy followed and looked around for a moment before Zoro grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him down.

"Sit down before someone sees us. If we get reported, we are in serious trouble. I will already have to talk to Nami as it is." he growled. Luffy blinked and then laughed.

"Okay." he responded.

Luffy's eyes were wide as he watched the movie playing on the screen before him. It was amazing, it was action filled, it was fantastic! Zoro, who was also watching the movie but with a certainly less amazed look on his face, jumped when Davy Jones appeared on the ship wreck.

The swordsman then proceeded to look around a little nervously to make sure no one had seen him before he looked back at the screen again. Luffy's eyes went even wider, if it was possible, and he turned and grinned at Zoro when the pirates came onto the screen.

Zoro grinned half-heartedly back, but to tell the truth, was rather disgusted by Luffy's mouth full of popcorn. Luffy punched a fist into the air when the pirates began fighting.

"SUKEE!" he cried. People in the seats in front of them turned and glared at him.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Zoro growled and frowned at the two woman staring at him. They spun around and whispered to each other. Luffy laughed loudly, not noticing the glares that were coming from every other person in the cinema. Zoro rolled his eyes and slapped a hand over Luffy's mouth.

"Listen," Zoro whispered as he leant a little closer, "you need to be quiet, alright? Make too much noise, and we'll be reported and then that's it. Sanji won't give us food for a week." Luffy's eyes went wide.

"Really?" he cried, his voice muffled. Zoro nodded.

"Now hush." and he pulled his hand away and leant back. For the rest of the movie, Luffy was quiet, keeping his mouth shut and only whining when Jack was going down with the ship. Zoro's face was emotionless, but, his hands were clasped together in his lap and he kept biting his lip. He was obviously feeling something but trying to deny it.

"…poor Jack." he muttered quietly. Luffy bit his lip, also feeling sad and he reached over and snatched Zoro's hand into his own and squeezed. Zoro didn't even notice, he was that engrossed in the movie. They stayed that way until the end, in which Zoro finally realized what had happened and quickly withdrew his hand. Luffy whined again. Zoro nudged Luffy's shoulder.

"It's not that bad. He so isn't dead. Can't be." he said.

"Huh? It's over?…No Fair!" and Luffy whined. This caused Zoro to sigh and shake his head.

"Well it can't last forever." he said as he stood. Luffy stood in front of him.

"But… it's not fair ending it like that! It's stupid!" Luffy cried and then puffed his cheeks out. Zoro felt a smile twitch at his lips.

_I agree. _Zoro thought but didn't say it aloud.

"When the next one comes out, you can go see it by yourself." he said. Luffy grinned as he walked out.

"Nope!" and Zoro blinked.

"You don't want to see the next one?" he asked, a little amazed.

"Course I do, but Zoro's coming with me!" Luffy announced. Zoro faltered, tripping on the carpet as they walked out of the cinema.

"…huh? How the hell do you even know we'll be in contact then?" he asked, his voice a little squeaky until he cleared his throat. Luffy shrugged.

"I just know!" he replied laughing. Zoro shook his head and then paused outside as his eyes adjusted to the light. Luffy blinked at him from under his hat. The swordsman sighed.

"So, do you want to get something to eat and go for a ride, or what? I honestly don't care." and he crossed his arms while he waited for an answer.

"FOOD!" Luffy cheered.

"Gah!" and Zoro nearly fell over from the shock of Luffy's sudden yell. Okay, so maybe he wasn't getting as used to Luffy's outbursts as he had first thought. Luffy blinked.

"Oi Zoro, you okay?" he asked. Zoro rotated a finger in his ear.

"Yeah… I think you nearly deafened me though." he replied. Luffy blinked again.

"Oh! Haha, sorry." he said, although he didn't look sorry at all.

"Come on, not gonna eat standing here." Zoro commented and moved towards his bike.

"Okay!" Luffy replied and then followed. Zoro bent down and unlocked his bike before sliding onto the seat. As Luffy slid onto the bike as well, he wondered about the thing written on his ticket.

_Midnight…? Might as well check it out. _He thought and then sighed. He smiled from where he was sitting behind Zoro as the swordsman kick started his bike. Luffy chuckled as the bike started.

"Whaii!" he cried. Zoro shook his head but simply couldn't resist smiling. Everything Luffy did now usually warranted a smile from the swordsman, and it was strange for someone as serious as himself to do so _much _smiling Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro and leaned forward.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To get food." Zoro replied, feeling oddly comfortable with Luffy's arms around his waist.

"YAY!" Luffy cried in his ear and then the boy grinned widely. Zoro ignored the wild outburst as he drove back out into the road.

"So, where do we go? Know any good places?" Zoro asked.

"Hmmmmmmm. There!" and he pointed to a large sign that read 'The Baratie'. Zoro looked over and saw the sign that Luffy was pointing at.

"There?" he asked, his voice breaking.

"Yeah, yeah! There!" Luffy replied loudly, bouncing on the bike behind him.

"But, that's where Sanji works…" he muttered, as they approached the sign.

"Really? But Sanji's food is the best!" Luffy cried.

"Well, ah, he's at school right now… Luffy, can we go somewhere else?" Zoro pleaded.

"Nawwww, please?" and Luffy's eyes went really wide and he put on a pout. Zoro could see the look in his side mirror and frowned. That look was getting to him, it was making his heart melt. He could feel it. He grit his teeth.

"No." he gritted out, trying desperately to resist that cute face. Luffy pouted harder and grabbed the handlebars from behind Zoro.

"Let's go! Who cares about Sanji, ne?" and he giggled as the bike swerved all over the road, Zoro fighting for control against Luffy's surprising strength, "WHAII!"

"Wha!" Zoro cried and then pushed his back into Luffy's chest, making the boy let go of the bars and letting Zoro turn the bike safely to the edge of the road and park outside the Baratie. Zoro twisted around in his seat, his face twisted into a look of pure venom

"You idiot! You realize you could have killed us both?" he yelled. Luffy frowned sadly and looked down at the ground, letting a small whine escape his throat.

"Sorry…" he muttered. Zoro sighed and shook his head before resting it against the handlebars.

"Zoro?" a gruff voice sounded from in front of them. Luffy twisted his head towards the voice.

"Wha, wha?" he cried. Zoro's head shot up.

"Uh… crap." he muttered as he saw the peg legged man standing before him. Sanji's boss, chef Zeff.

"Why aren't you at school?" Zeff asked, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"Well, you see, uh…" and Zoro kick started the bike again, "Cya!" and he spun the bike around and back into the road, accelerating as fast as he could make the bike go.

"WHAAAA!" Luffy cried as he tried to hold on.

"Sanji'll hear about this!" Zeff's voice called after them and the chef walked back into the restaurant.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, we are so in trouble!" Zoro swore. Luffy poked his head over Zoro's shoulder.

"Why are we in trouble?" he asked.

"Haven't you been listening? That guy we just met back there was Sanji's boss, he's gonna tell Sanji we were here and not at school!" Zoro replied. He probably should of thought of that before he decided to skip school. Luffy blinked before smiling.

"Oh, it will work out somehow! It's not like we'll be killed for skipping school. Besides, Sanji would have known already, right? Isn't he in your class?" Luffy asked. This time it was Zoro's turn to blink.

"Never thought of that." he replied. Luffy grinned.

"See?" and Zoro softly snorted.

"You can be smart sometimes. Okay, why don't we grab something over there?" Zoro asked, pointing at a random fish and chip shop.

"OKAY!" Luffy cried, nodding and grinning. Zoro began pulling the bike over and Luffy almost jumped from the bike while it was still in motion.

"Food! Yay!" Luffy cried.

"Whoa!" Zoro yelped as he stopped the bike. Luffy bounded off the bike and ran towards the fish and chip shop. Zoro sighed and locked his bike before following. Meanwhile, Luffy, the epitome of hunger, was drooling over the yummy food that everyone else was buying. Zoro raised an eyebrow at the drooling boy and then grabbed him and dragged him towards the counter. He nudged Luffy.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Everything!" Luffy replied, grinning at the hard choices.

"Really?" and he thought for a moment, "What about half?"

"Nah. Too expensive." Luffy replied and Zoro blinked, surprised that the boy had known something like that, "I'll have what Zoro's having!"

"Zo…err, I'm having some barramundi and chips I'spose." Zoro replied.

"Sounds yummy!" Luffy cried.

"…yes. Uh, two barramundi and chips please." and he looked towards Luffy a little nervously. The boy grinned at him.

Zoro smiled back at him and then took the food from the man behind the counter, handed over the money and then accepted the change before leading Luffy out of the shop. He handed Luffy's food to him and the boy ripped it open and took all of five seconds to inhale the food.

"Hey, hey! That's supposed to be for… ah never mind." Zoro said as Luffy finished his meal, _No point. _Luffy pouted as he looked down at his empty hands.

"I'll go and get another one." and he turned around and walked back into the shop, leaving Luffy standing alone on the sidewalk. The boy looked around, feeling a little vulnerable without Zoro around, but only a little.

He had been alone a lot of times before and in broad daylight, it wasn't going to affect him. He casually slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled the ticket out and looked at it, reading the message on the back again.

"What the heck does he want?" he muttered, frowning. There was the sound of Zoro's clumping steps and Luffy hastily shoved the ticket back into his pocket and plastered a happy smile on his face. Zoro paused as he came out of the shop, his eyes narrowing minutely before he shrugged and continued over.

"Come on. We have three hours to kill." Zoro said as he held the food close to him as he got on the bike. He laid them in his lap and then grabbed a piece of string and tied them to his waist. They weren't going nowhere.

"Okay!" Luffy replied and chuckled. Zoro gave Luffy a suspicious glance as the boy moved to sit on the bike behind him. The boy once again wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist.

"So, where are we going now?" he asked.

"Out of town. We'll go down to the river. I used to spend a lot of time there when-" and he paused as his voice caught in his throat, the motorbike rumbling underneath them, "well, I spent a lot of time there a while ago." Luffy eyed Zoro for a moment as they turned out into the street again.

"Okay." he replied and grinned. Zoro nodded, not actually hearing what Luffy had said.

…_guess I'm coming to visit, Kuina. _He thought. Luffy watched Zoro for a while as they travelled and then he watched the road ahead, the houses becoming more sparse on either side of them as the bike headed towards a more quiet, and greener scene.

Zoro was silent, a light frown on his face. He was thinking hard, wondering why he was suddenly drawn back to this place. There was something here… more than Kuina. And for some reason, it seemed to relate to Luffy in some way.

The boy behind him leant forward and rested his chin on Zoro's shoulder as they zoomed along, the wind ruffling his hair. Zoro wasn't wearing his helmet, and therefore, Luffy wasn't gonna either. Zoro barely felt Luffy leaning against him as he noticed the spot where he used to go through the bushes into the trail that led to the river.

"We're here." he muttered as he pulled the bike over and stopped it. He paused as he wondered whether he should go in or not. It had been so long since he had been back here. Not since at least about a year and a half. Luffy looked at Zoro as he got off the bike again.

_He looks troubled, _Luffy thought and then put a hand on Zoro's shoulder, "Hey, Zoro, you okay?" Zoro snapped his head around and looked at him.

"Fine." he growled and got off the bike, picking up the food as he did so, "Let's go."

---------------------------------------------

**There would have been more to this chapter, but, I wanted the next bit for the beggining of the next chapter. I hope that's okay. Shiru, I hope you don't mind either.**

**See you all later! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, Oh m' gawd, it's another chapter! -bounces around like a rubber ball- Enjoy my friends!**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_**Chapter 9**_

Luffy watched Zoro walk away from him with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Hm." he muttered worriedly before following. The bushes were thick, and the air was humid as the two fought their way through overgrown bracken, and small thorns that left itchy scratches on their arms. Zoro silently wished he could have brought his swords to cut through this damn undergrowth, but, there was nothing to be done about it.

"Come on Luffy! It's right through here." he called over his shoulder.

"Yay!" and he raced past Zoro, ducking under the branches, and bouncing easily around the bushes.

"Whoa!" Zoro jumped forward and grabbed the excited, monkey wannabe by the back of his collar. Luffy jerked back and then looked up at Zoro with a hurt expression, "Don't go on ahead. There's a narrow path with a drop on the either side, and, Nami would charge me a hell of a lot of money if I lost you." and he moved past Luffy, ducking under a swaying branch. Luffy blinked after him, pouting.

"Nawww. Zoro, you're worrying too much." he commented, "I've got luck on my side!" and he grinned happily. Zoro snorted as he walked ahead.

"Yeah right. Luck, don't believe in it." he responded. Luffy shrugged, not really caring as he looked around. He knew _his _luck was real. It had proved itself to be useful way too many times during his life. He was thankful it was there.

"Ah well, you do as you want." and he was jerked as a branch stuck in his shirt. He chuckled as he detangled it. Zoro grunted as an agreement to his latest statement. He stepped onto a log, that he remembered, used to lead across the ravine into his little area. Problem was, the ravine was no longer a ravine. More like, a short drop. Falling off the monkey bars at the park would be more dangerous. Zoro blinked.

"Hnh… looked a lot bigger when I was a kid." he muttered to himself. It had looked a lot bigger, but then, he had been a lot smaller. A _lot _smaller, come to think of it. Luffy blinked silently and followed. Zoro paused for a little longer, before walking across the small log, as easily as if it were a sidewalk. No problems there, except when the log creaked dangerously when Zoro reached the centre. Luffy had chuckled behind him and Zoro frowned and felt his face grow a little hot.

After all, the log had been there a long time, and he wasn't that heavy. At least, he didn't think he was. All the same, the swordsman quickly moved off the log and felt better when he was standing on solid ground again. He shoved a tree out of the way, and stopped. Lying directly in front of him was a headstone, a small stone bird with it's wings opened out, sat on top of it. It was cracked, and dirty but Zoro recognised it instantly, and his heart thundered in his chest.

His eyes were transfixed by the image in front of him, and his face seemed devoid of colour. It had been so long… The night, the dark… and her scream. The one that had woken him up as he lay in the room next door. Why hadn't they killed him? Instead of her?

A dark chuckle, a glimmer of gold from beneath those piercing eyes. He remembered how he had been shoved roughly back into his own room, and then somehow, the door had been locked from the other side. There was no mechanism on the inside of that door, and he had been locked in until morning. When her father had found him, he was curled up on the bed, pillow over his head as he cried, knowing his best friend was dead.

Luffy's foot caught on a root and he fell forward, knocking into Zoro's solid back. The man was as still as a statue, and Luffy pushed himself back up again and looked up at him.

"Wha?" he muttered and then realized something was up, "What?" he asked quietly. Luffy tilted his head, looking past Zoro. His eyes widened as they came to rest on the headstone in front of him. He knew it. Somehow…

"But that's…" and he trailed off, not willing to speak the name aloud in the silence. It felt like blasphemy to do so. Zoro seemed to come out of his daze, and he slowly sank to his knees before running a hand across the bird's head. The texture of the stone was rough, from years of rain beating on it's surface. His hand went down the bird's chest and then paused as it passed down past the top of it, and there his fingers stopped, trembling, as if touching the stone would crumble it.

"Kuina's…" he finished softly. He really missed her, and no words could describe how much. Zoro reached forward and slowly traced the letters that were imprinted into the stone. Luffy blinked, and he could have sworn he had heard the name before.

"Was… she your friend?" he asked hesitantly. Zoro smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." he replied. Luffy took a breath and prepared to ask the next question. He had a sneaking suspicion as to what the answer would be.

"…she was murdered." he replied and the hand that had been tracing the letters, fell to his side in a clenched fist, "They never found out who did it." _But I saw him… _He thought to himself. Luffy sighed and bowed his head. He was right.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. Zoro sighed and rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." he replied. Luffy hissed a little and looked towards the sky.

_So Crocodile, you've gone this far… _He silently said. Luffy wished Croc could hear him, but, he also wished he couldn't. If the Croc heard him, then he would have been in serious trouble. He looked down at Zoro and he felt a pang of pity, and sorrow in his heart.

"But, I have to worry, because-" but he was cut off as Zoro stood up so quickly, his earrings clinked as they fell back into place.

"Shh, there's someone else here…" he muttered, his sharp eyes glancing from side to side. Luffy closed his mouth and turned to face the bushes across from him. Something was definitely moving over there, quietly, and stealthily… but it was there.

Like a shadow, it moved. Whispering like the wind. Luffy's eyes narrowed. He hoped it wasn't him. If it was… A cloud passed across the sun and threw the area into shadow. Zoro glanced in the same direction as Luffy and his lip curled slightly.

"Get down low." he instructed in a voice that was hardly above a whisper. He crouched down again in front of Kuina's grave, and Luffy did the same behind him, biting his lip and clenching his fists as he did so.

"You sure about this Zoro?" Luffy whispered. Zoro inclined his head ever so slightly. His hand went instinctively to his hip where his swords usually were, but, they weren't there now, and it made Zoro feel decidedly uneasy. Luffy growled slightly and moved to a more comfortable position, one that he could easily spring up out of if something threatened them. Zoro was coiled low, like a snake preparing to strike.

_What if…_Luffy thought as they looked around. The silence was eerie, the wind whispering through the leaves of the trees about them. The cloud passed and the area was thrown into sunlight again. A loud squawk beside them made the two jump. It was only a flock of water birds flying up into the sky as if suddenly startled. Zoro sighed in front of him and Luffy could almost see the tension flying off the older man. He had been pretty edgy himself come to think of it.

"It's gone." Zoro said as he stood. Luffy frowned as he stood up as well, still looking around him nervously. Zoro glanced back at Luffy and blinked. The kid looked pretty worried.

"That was a freaky moment," he said, "should we continue? Or do you wanna go home? You look really pale." and he raised an eyebrow at Luffy, who shook his head. The boy looked up at him.

"It's nothing. Let's go…" he replied. Zoro shrugged and turned around, brushing a hand across Kuina's grave a final time before continuing. Luffy followed Zoro on silent feet. He was keeping even quieter than he had been before. Even if Zoro said whatever it was, was gone, he wasn't willing to take any chances. Zoro seemed to be alright though, he seemed actually, happier, than he had been before.

Which was a turn around. The swordsman led Luffy through some more bush, cursed at some more thorns, and then pushed through a last group of trees to come out in a relatively well groomed area. The grass wasn't as long as what was behind them, and it was green and lush and soft. A large, sparkling river ran past a huge, and old tree which was leaning sadly to one side. A rotting tree house was in it's uppermost branches and Zoro glanced around for a moment, memories coming back to him, and making him slightly dizzy.

"Here we are…" he announced in a bored voice. Inside though, he was thrilled to be back at his old secret hideout. The river had gotten a little wider, the tree had died a bit more, and the grass was greener, but other than that, nothing much had changed. He still remembered when Kuina had found him taking refuge in her tree house. That had been a fantastic meeting. She had nearly drowned him in the river. Zoro chuckled to himself. Luffy fell out of the trees beside him and stopped, looking around with big eyes.

"Wooooooooow!" he cried. Zoro blinked at him and then looked away, rubbing a hand over the back of his head nervously.

"It's not that great." He replied, although he secretly thought Luffy's reaction had been a perfect representation of what he was feeling himself.

"It's beautiful!" Luffy cried and he ran over to the river and stared down into the water. Tiny fish darted underneath the crystal surface, like they were caught beneath glass and swimming in a world all of their own. Small, shining pebbles of every colour lay at the bottom of the river, there beauty making Luffy want to reach out and touch them, but, at the same time, the boy didn't want to disturb the perfect surface beneath him. Zoro sighed and shook his head, but smiled all the same.

"Yeah…" he replied and then his stomach rumbled loudly… and embarrassingly. He put a hand over it as a light pink tinge came to his cheeks. Luffy turned and looked at Zoro, grinning widely which only served to make the swordsman blush harder.

"Zoro's hungry!" he announced. Zoro's eyes darted around on the ground, looking anywhere but at Luffy's face.

"Yeah, well…" he replied pitifully, not really knowing what to say. There was a short, but very uncomfortable silence for the swordsman.

"FOOD!" Luffy cried in a voice that made Zoro smile, and his embarrassment died down. That statement, had made it a little better.

"Heh, yeah." and he sat down by a tree and placed the food on the ground beside him. Luffy ran over, and then dropped to all fours in the soft grass before crawling over to Zoro and slipping into his lap.

"Ne, ne Zoro?" he asked impatiently, bouncing slightly. Zoro fought down that irritating and persistent blush as he looked down at the bundle of Luffy in his lap.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a voice that clearly said he disapproved. _Thank God Sanji isn't here. _He thought privately and then a smiled a little cheekily, "You have the food remember." Luffy blinked.

"I do?" he looked down at himself, "Then where did it go?" and he twisted, trying to look at his back. Zoro had to stop himself from laughing.

"You tied it to you! Aw man, don't tell me you lost it?" he called. Luffy blinked and his face became slightly stricken.

"Luffy doesn't know…" he replied in a quiet voice. Zoro chuckled.

"Wait, I have it." and he brought it out. Luffy blinked some more and then chuckled.

"Silly Zoro." and he grinned. This time, it was Zoro's turn to blink. Obviously Luffy hadn't picked up on the fact that it had been a trick. Oh well. He handed Luffy his (the boy was drooling) and pulled his hand quickly away. He _needed _that hand, and if he hadn't have pulled it away, he was sure Luffy would have swallowed it whole. Luffy, who, by the way, was still sitting in Zoro's lap, swallowed all the chips and fish in two seconds flat. In some country, somewhere, Luffy had broken a record. He was liking his fingers, when Zoro moved his knees. Luffy whined and looked up at him.

"You, ah, wanna get out of my lap?" Zoro asked as he raised an eyebrow. Luffy pouted.

"Naah, I like it here." he replied with a cute little smile, before he nuzzled Zoro's shirt. This made the older man blush as red as a tomato.

"You're a strange one. Why don't you, errr… go and have a swim? Or something." Luffy frowned at the suggestion and then looked down, finding a piece of grass and tugging at it.

"…I can't swim." he replied. Zoro hadn't expected that answer.

"You serious?" he asked. Luffy muttered and turned away again, an obvious blush on his features. Zoro mentally kicked himself, realizing he had hurt Luffy's feelings.

"But, hey, that's cool. I mean, there are heaps of people who can't swim. Why don't you climb a tree?" he asked as he finished off the last of his food. Luffy was still turned away, so his voice was muffled when he next spoke.

"…it's more like I'm…" and he mumbled something that Zoro couldn't hear. The boy was continuing as if he hadn't heard Zoro at all. The swordsman blinked, thinking he should let Luffy continue this time.

"You're what?" he urged. Luffy looked down at the ground.

"Afraid…" he replied. Zoro paused. He knew he shouldn't ask, but, he couldn't resist.

"Afraid? Why?" Luffy shook his head and put on a smile, that Zoro instantly knew was fake.

"That's not important." and he tilted his head. Zoro eyed Luffy for a little longer before shrugging.

"Guess not." and he moved to stand, "Come on, get off. I need to stretch." Luffy whined loudly.

"Awww," and he pouted in an attempt to get Zoro to let him stay, but the swordsman made shoo-ing signs with his hands. Luffy pouted harder but Zoro gave him a stern look and this time Luffy got up, wrapping his arms around Zoro's neck as he did so.

"Whee!" he cried and grinned. Zoro blushed.

"Right." he muttered and stood up as well. He didn't realize until he was up, that Luffy was still hanging from his neck. The boy's face was a mere few centimetres in front of his face and Zoro jerked his back a little bit, his face becoming stricken. Luffy did that cute smile again and tilted his head, the hat flopping to one side.

"Na, Zoro?" he said. Zoro just took Luffy's arms away from his neck, which made Luffy frown. Then the boy grinned as he hopped onto one foot and balanced there.

"What's going to happen when Nami and Sanji finds out about us not going to school?" he asked as he skipped onto the other foot. Zoro stretched his arms towards the sky before letting them drop to his side and shrugging. His previous paranoia and nervousness was replaced with a need to sleep.

"Don't know, don't care, how's that?" he responded and grinned cheekily. Luffy didn't see the grin.

"Because, is Nami gonna make Zoro owe her more money?" he asked and looked up at his friend. Zoro blinked, and then frowned.

"That witch probably will, come to think of it." he replied. He shrugged again and stretched some more. Luffy looked back down at the ground again.

_Na, will… Zoro throw me out of the house? _Luffy thought as he jumped back onto two feet again. Zoro wasn't paying any attention to Luffy as he looked around, yawning and blinking blearily. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, looking like a little kid in need of a nap. Luffy frowned as his thoughts ran wild.

_Because when I did that back with my foster parents, they threw me out… Good thing Ace was there though, but he moved away… _Luffy thought and his heart thumped a little harder in panic. Meanwhile, Zoro had noticed the silence, and he studied the boy in front of him with a mildly concerned gaze.

"Hey, Luffy? You okay?" he asked, but Luffy ignored him as he stared at the ground. Actually, Luffy seemed to be deep in thought.

_On the other hand… I should get out of here. _Luffy continued inside his mind. He honestly hadn't heard Zoro. The swordsman frowned, and walked over.

"Oi!" he said loudly and poked Luffy in the shoulder with a hard finger. Luffy blinked and looked up.

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide. Zoro sighed.

"Never mind." he replied and looked at his watch. His eyes went slightly wider when he saw the time, "We're going to have to go back."

"Awww, but I like it here." Luffy whined, jumping over and clinging to the big tree. Zoro shook his head.

"Yeah, well, if we make it back to the house before three, we might be able to fool Sanji and Nami into thinking we were home sick for the day." he replied. Luffy pressed his face against the bark and then blinked as he realized what Zoro had said.

"OOOOH! Okay!" and he jumped away from the tree and grinned, "Let's go then!"

"Yeah, yeah." Zoro replied in a bored tone as he walked off. Luffy leaped after Zoro, and grabbed a hold of his arm, clinging to it as he began humming another song. Zoro looked down with a scowl, and Luffy looked up with a grin. Zoro sighed and looked away.

_No point trying to make him let go…_ He thought as they followed the path back to the bike. Luffy nuzzled Zoro's arm before letting go and racing ahead to the bike. Zoro sighed again, and shook his head.

_What the hell has happened to my life? _He wondered and then he saw Luffy prodding things on his bike. Fragile, and breakable things.

"Hey! Don't touch that!" he yelled and ran after the boy. Yes indeed, what _had _happened to Zoro's life? Something good? Or something very, very bad.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Holy cookies, I think that was the shortest chapter of them all. -shakes head- Shiru, we have to step it up next week! -grins cheekily and then dodges as Shiru throws rotten vegetables at her- Reviews please! -gets taken out by a tomato-**


	10. Chapter 10

**-sigh- let's just get on with the chapter, shall we? **

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_**Chapter 10**_

Zoro turned the bike into the drive and parked it before turning it off. He sighed. They had gotten home from their little trip before the others had got home from school. Or at least, he couldn't see any cars there. Luffy grinned, feeling sneaky, and ninja like.

"So, will they think we were sick then?" he asked. Zoro nodded as he slid from the bike.

"Mhm. Now, let's get inside." he commented. Luffy grinned and jumped off the bike as well.

"Okay!" and then he snickered before following Zoro inside. Zoro paused as he walked in, took off his jacket and threw it onto the rack before sticking his hands in his pockets and moving to the stairs. Luffy had just shut the door when Zoro heard the sound of a car outside. His eyes widened.

"Shit… Get upstairs and into your room Luffy!" Zoro ordered and ran up the stairs. Luffy blinked and then ran towards the stairs and up them as well, racing for his room.

"Whaaaaaaa!" he cried as he ran, panicking and laughing at the same time. Zoro raced to his own room, almost grinning as he threw himself on his bed and pulled the covers up over him, wriggling around until he was comfortable. Luffy dived into his own bed from halfway into the room, and pulled the covers up over himself. There was the sound of a door being opened rather viciously and then Nami's voice.

"I can't believe they skipped school today. They are gonna owe me a hell of a lot!" she said nastily. Nami was obviously very ticked off.

"Of course they are! It was probably Marimo's fault. Heh, hey Nami…" and then Sanji's voice was cut off. It seemed he had chosen to whisper whatever it was, into Nami's ear. Upstairs, Zoro frowned underneath his covers and mouthed,

"My fault?" and he frowned some more. Luffy giggled in his room. Usopp walked in downstairs after the first two, and he was a little scared of Nami's behaviour, to say the least.

"W-well… maybe they're just…errr, sick." he suggested, but only earned himself a death glare from Nami, "B-but! That c-could be wrong I guess!" he cried and laughed nervously before running for the lounge room.

"Ah, they're not sick." Sanji said, interrupting the silence after a while, "They're doing exactly what I said to Nami." and he laughed darkly before heading for the kitchen. Zoro blinked upstairs.

"What the hell?" he muttered, "What's he talkin-" and then realization dawned upon him and his eyes widened before he frowned, "That bastard!" Zoro clapped his hands over his mouth. Sanji, in the kitchen, looked up at the ceiling and then shrugged. Nami hummed a little before shrugging.

"I think I will go and have a look." she said and then headed for the stairs. Luffy snorted and giggled even harder under his sheets in his room. Zoro looked over sharply as he heard both Luffy's giggling and Nami's soft steps on the stairs. He hissed softly as Luffy giggled again.

_Luffy is gonna ruin everything! _He thought viciously as he pulled the covers further up and almost over his face. Sanji was humming downstairs as he prepared some afternoon snacks. Nami paused on the stairs as she heard the giggling and then she smirked rather evilly. Luffy was trying to hold it back, and he even bit the covers to try and stop himself, but it was just no use.

"And why exactly did you two skip classes today?" she called out, "Sanji had a pretty good explanation." and she smirked harder. Zoro bit into the sheets as well, just dying to make a remark, but he just had to keep quiet. It wasn't worth getting yelled at, and then getting assigned all the jobs in the house for a week. Luffy perked up at the sound of Sanji's name.

"Sanji??? FOOD!!!" he yelled and jumped out of his bed.

"And here I was, _actually _beginning to think you two were sick. Hmm, I'm so stupid." she said sarcastically as she put a hand on her hip. Luffy paused in his run to the door.

"Oops…" he muttered, biting his lip. Zoro slapped a hand to his forehead.

_Perhaps I can still fool her into thinking I'm sick at least… _He thought. As though she had heard him, Nami eyed the door and then made for it. She opened it and then walked in. She eyed him in the bed for a minute and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she did so.

"Care to explain?" she asked before leaning against the door frame. Zoro peeked over the edge of his covers and glared.

"I wasn't feeling crash hot so I stayed home, and Luffy can't drive himself and it's not exactly next door, so he stayed home as well. Happy?" he growled and glared some more. Nami sighed and walked in further, checking him up and down with her eyes as she did so.

"You don't look so sick to me." Nami muttered and then smiled, "Oooh, but of course you could have been doing what Sanji-kun said." and she snickered nastily. Luffy picked that moment to run past the doorway and down the stairs with a loud battlecry of 'FOOOOOD!'. Zoro frowned.

"I do not care, and nor do I _want _to know what **Sanji-kun **said. If I feel sick, then I feel damn well sick. Now go away." he growled, putting a sarcastic emphasis on Nami's nickname for Sanji.

"Fine. But don't forget you have to buy Luffy some new school books." and she waved nonchalantly before walking out. Luffy came running back up the stairs, this time with a battle cry of 'ZOROOOO!'. Zoro sighed.

"Whatever Nami." he muttered before looking up as he heard Luffy cry out his name. Nami disappeared with a final smirk before Luffy skidded into the room.

"Did she believe you?" he asked as he grinned wildly. Zoro waited until Nami's footsteps had faded before he nodded.

"I think so. But, if you hang around, she isn't. And, I have to stay here and keep up the sick thing, so, you're gonna have to sneak food up to me…" and he paused, " please?" Chopper appeared out of nowhere with a loud meow that made Zoro jump. The cat was hungry as well, and it made this very obvious as it continued winding itself around Luffy's legs and meowing pitifully up at it's owner. Luffy blinked.

"OKAY!!!" he cried and then looked down at Chopper, "Nehe, he's hungry too!" and he picked up the cat before racing back towards the stairs and towards the kitchen. Zoro sighed and lay back again. Downstairs, Sanji was watching the door carefully in case Luffy reappears.

"Stupid, hyperactive little bastard. Obviously isn't sick." Sanji growled as he continued in his preparation of the food. Luffy skidded around the corner, slipping on the floor. The cat in his arms gave a frightened squeak and then Luffy corrected himself, twisting around and looking into the kitchen where Sanji was. The chef looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Sanjiii! Chopper is hungry! And Zoro! And me!" Luffy yelled, grinning brightly. Usopp chose that moment to walk in. Sanji groaned. This place was becoming a regular freeway! He began chopping furiously at some vegetables, his hands moving at lightning speed.

"Hey Luffy, you missed a whole lot of important things at school today." Usopp commented as he buried his head in the fridge and looked for a drink. He finally pulled out a can of coke and turned around again.

"Whaaa… I did?" Luffy asked as Chopper jumped out of his arms.

"Yeah, we had Pizza day and the Great Usopp-sama got the top grade in his art class." and Usopp puffed his chest out proudly. Sanji smirked as he threw the vegies into a fry pan. Luffy's eyes swam with tears.

"YOU HAD PIZZA DAY???" he whined and pouted desperately. He really liked Pizza… but spending the day with Zoro had been awesome. But Pizza… Zoro, or Pizza? Which was better? Luffy grinned to himself as he came up with the answer. MEAT! That was the best thing in his world! Sanji looked up as Luffy whined.

"Yep. It was good too." he said. Luffy pouted again. His triumphant thought was now lost.

"UWHAAAA! That's not fair!" Luffy cried, feeling very miserable indeed. In fact, he felt so miserable, that he fell to the floor and began crying. Usopp looked down and raised an eyebrow. Sanji was trying to hold back laughter. Nami walked in with a 'grow up' look on her face.

"That's what you get for skipping school." she commented before pausing at the bench, and leaning over it, "Sanji-kun? Is dinner ready yet?" she asked sweetly. Sanji grinned up at her, his eyes glittering wildly and one could almost see the swirls and hearts floating off of him.

"It is ready my wonderful, lovely, fantastic, beautiful-"

"Alright, alright. I get it. Thankyou." she said, cutting Sanji off as she rubbed a hand against the side of her head and closed her eyes. Sanji bowed slightly and went back to getting the plates ready for the food to be put out on. Luffy jumped up as soon as he had heard the food was ready.

"FOOOOD!!" he cried, "Oh, and Chopper wants food too!" Nami nodded and went to the cupboard, grabbing out a can of cat food, opening it and then setting down a small plate on the floor. Chopper bounced over and began eating it immediately, almost as enthusiastic about his food as his master was.

"And why isn't Zoro coming?" Nami asked as she washed her hands in the sink. Sanji moved out of the room with the plates and Luffy watched him go with wide eyes, and drool coming out of the side of his mouth. As soon as Sanji was out of sight though, Luffy looked back at Nami.

"He's pretending he's sick!" he announced and grinned proudly. Zoro heard the comment from upstairs and felt his plan go bye bye.

"Oh shit…" he muttered and jumped out of his bed, and ran over to his door before slamming it, "Not that I'm… afraid or anything… but, I like my privacy…" and he looked around a little nervously, "Oh shit…" Sanji walked back in.

"Pretending?! I knew it!" the chef cried.

"HA! I knew it!" Nami said as well. Sanji grinned at her. Luffy tilted his head and laughed at the cheery voices.

"But he said to bring him some food, so I'm gonna do that now." and he grabbed his and Zoro's plate of food before running out and up the stairs again, "Zoro!!" Zoro heard Luffy and frowned. He really didn't want to speak to the kid now.

"Well… Zoro's got Luffy trained." Sanji commented as he leaned on the bench, letting his weight rest on his hip. Nami snickered, and Usopp eyed the pair of them, not liking the tone in either of their voices. Luffy opened Zoro's door with his elbow and then ran into the room, holding the plates triumphantly in the air as he did so. Zoro glared at Luffy from the bed and then sighed.

"Thanks Luffy." and he shook his head, "Not hungry now though. The money used to buy my share of the food, belongs to Nami now." and he shook his head again. Today, was a dramatic day for Zoro. He glared at Luffy again.

"Not hungry?" Luffy gasped, as if Zoro had just used a horribly bad set of swear words, "Are you sure?" and he sat down on the floor, "It's only gonna be worse if you lie."

"Luffy!" Zoro growled, debating whether he should continue or just let the matter rest. He decided he was going to continue, just to get it out of his system, "You've told me this before. But this time, it wouldn't have been worse!" and he glared again.

"But! If you lie, it's gonna ball up and then when someone finds out about it, it's just going to hurt even more." Luffy replied, shaking his finger as if he was talking to a young child. He paused for a moment after hearing his own words and then he frowned, "I'm sorry Zoro." and he bowed his head. Zoro sighed.

"Don't worry about it Luffy. I'm tired, so, can you go? I wanna sleep." and he flipped his legs onto the bed and lay down, burying his face in his pillow. Luffy pouted.

"Does that mean I can have the food?" he asked, tilting his head. Zoro groaned in an irritated fashion.

"Yes! Get out!" he yelled, his voice muffled.

"Okay! Thanks Zoro!" and he took the plates and walked out, closing the door behind him. Zoro sighed again.

"Fucking hell I'm sick of this…" he muttered.

---

It was late, real late. The moon was directly over a small house and outside, a pair of eyes and a wide smile were waiting for a certain young boy. Luffy sat up with a gasp and looked at his clock. The dial read 23:55. Luffy rubbed a hand over his face.

"That means…" and he yawned and frowned. He didn't want to go out there, but he knew who was waiting. He knew he had to do it. He sat up from his bed and sighed, wrapping his arms around his legs. This was saddening, and frightening, but Luffy wouldn't turn away.

He buried his face in his knees and blew out a deep breath. Outside, the click of boots could be heard on the pavement and Luffy turned to his window. Looking out, he saw a black billowing cloak, floating behind a wide shouldered figure. Luffy frowned.

"Stupid…" he muttered.

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**Yeah, I'm sorry this chappie was so short, but, Shiru and I have some stuff planned for the next chappie, don't we shiru? And I wanna rp it now. -grin- more fun that way. he he he. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Okies, heres anudder chappie! And if you are reading this, yes you, I know you're reading this story right now. So, when you get to the bottom of this page, and think, 'wow, that was good' or 'it'd be cool to say something about this story so the authors can feel happy' then just click on the little button and leave a review. And if you don't, then, shame on you. **

**-------------------------------**

_**Chapter 11**_

Luffy swung his legs out of the bed and stood, stretching a little to get rid of the kinks in his arms and back. It was too late at night, or too early in the morning, for all this shit. He'd had enough of it all.

It really was time to face his fears and get all this over with. Scratching around in the dark, Luffy found his clothes and began clumsily changing from his pyjamas (courtesy of Nami) and putting his jeans and shirt on, nearly crashing headlong into the wall when his foot got caught in his pants leg.

Breathing a sigh of relief and then giving a little giggle, Luffy hurried out his door and along the corridor. Light snoring could be heard throughout the house but the boy took no notice as he crept down the stairs, and then stopping when one of them gave a loud squeak. He paused, listening intently for a moment before blowing out a breath between his dry lips.

Sneaking was fun, but, sometimes it was a little… scary. Luffy continued down, jumping the last three steps to land lightly on the carpet. Moving to the door, he sat down and began putting on his shoes, making light thumps as he put his feet down on the floor again. Luffy sat still in the night, listening to make sure he hadn't awoken someone, and when he didn't hear anything, he opened the door and moved outside into the cool night air.

But Luffy was wrong in thinking he had escaped without waking anyone up. Zoro had been awoken the moment he had heard the squeak on the stairs. He was sitting up in his bed, looking around sharply as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moonlight was streaming in through his window and it fell onto a small ball of fluff curled in the middle of the floor. Chopper. How had he got in there?

Zoro shook his head, not worrying about the matter any further when he heard twin thumps downstairs. He jumped out of his bed and slipped a shirt over his head before hurrying out his door and moving to the top of the stairs. Zoro looked down and saw a figure moving at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes narrowed.

"Who…?" he muttered before seeing the thin and lithe figure and he sighed, "Luffy." Zoro was about to turn around and go back to bed when Luffy moved out the front door and closed it softly behind him. The swordsman thought for a moment, debating inside his mind about whether he should go down and follow, or go back to bed.

He decided on going back to his room, grabbing his swords and then running catlike to the stairs, where he hurried down them, skipping over the stair he knew squeaked and then landing much like Luffy had, on the carpet below. He grinned.

"Man, I'm good." he muttered before hurrying towards the door. He slipped on his shoes and then moved outside. Luffy was walking towards a large man, who was clothed in darkness and Zoro couldn't get a good look at him. He twisted around and dropped behind a bush when Luffy looked over his shoulder. Slowly raising his head, he saw Luffy stop in front of the man and Zoro frowned. What the hell was going on here?

Luffy paused and then walked up to a man and stopped, his shoulders tensed.

"What do you want?" he asked, Zoro only just able to make out Luffy's low voice from where he was hiding.

"Such a big question… for such a little brat." the man responded, his mouth quirking into a grin. The moonlight was reflected off of a small, gold object at the man's side. Zoro frowned. Where had he seen that before? Clouds were passing overhead, hurried by an unfelt wind, and they looked dark. Luffy growled audibly.

"Just spit it out already, Crocodile." the boy barked harshly. The larger man chuckled in a low voice and Zoro gasped when he heard that name. Both men looked towards his area and he clapped a hand over his mouth, silencing himself. Boy, that had been close. Thank god for green hair. Crocodile looked back down at Luffy, and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Always impatient." he muttered, looking Luffy up and down as though he were an animal behind a cage. A dangerous animal, "How's your life now boy? Interesting?" and his lips quirked in that grin again before he reached into an unseen pocket and pulled out a cigar. Luffy growled again, this time in a more hostile tone.

"Stop being a jerk!" he hissed. Zoro had never heard such ice in the boy's voice before. Luffy hated this man very much. Crocodile shrugged and lit his cigar, puffing on it for a moment before grinning again. He laughed, more loudly this time. Mocking the boy in front of him. Zoro's palm was on his swords, his thumb delicately sliding Wadau in and out of it's sheath. Luffy frowned, his eyes darkening with latent anger. He slammed a fist into the nearest wall, his eyes never leaving Crocodile's face. Crocodile paused, but his grin was still in place.

"What do you want!?" Luffy yelled, and somewhere a dog barked half heartedly until it's owner yelled at it to be quiet.

"Ohh, we are a feisty one tonight, aren't we?" and he chuckled lowly before continuing, "Well, if you insist on being this way, I guess I am just going to have to tell you… Monkey D Luffy, that you are in trouble. Serious… trouble." and he frowned deeply, smoke playing across his face and hazing it slightly. Luffy frowned back.

"I'll make you pay for the day that you walked in on my plans." Crocodile hissed, all mockery gone from his voice, only to be replaced with a cold edge, like a blade. Luffy stepped back and eyed the man, wondering what he was talking about, and what could have happened.

"What have you done?" Luffy asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. Crocodile watched him for a moment before smiling and tilting his head to the side.

"Tell me, how is your brother Ace?" he asked quietly. Luffy stiffened and his eyes went wide, his back straightening and his fists clenching.

"You haven't…" and he trailed off, not willing to finish the sentence. Crocodile just smirked nastily, leaning back and puffing a large smoke ring into the air, "What have you done to Ace!?" Luffy yelled and still Crocodile did not respond.

"Tell me!" Luffy shouted, his eyes flashing past anger, and showing rage. A rage that was fine and deep. It coursed through him, setting him alight and making every muscle in his body want to lash out at the grinning face before him.

Luffy felt the urge to shove that cigar down his throat, and make sure he choked on it. Ace… meant more to him than anything else in the world. And if Crocodile had done anything, then someone was going to pay, and pay dearly. Luffy's heart throbbed in time to the quick breaths he was taking. Crocodile sighed, finally conceding on telling the boy what happened.

"Hmm…" he hummed, looking Luffy up and down again, "You'll see him again… one day. When you're dead would be a good time." and he laughed. Luffy's eyes went impossibly wide, and the moon disappeared behind a cloud, throwing the area into darkness. Zoro could no longer see Luffy and he squinted, desperately trying to find even an outline, but there was nothing.

"YOU FUCKING JERK!" Luffy screamed, tears running down his face as his mouth twisted in a cold snarl. He aimed a punch at Crocodile, but in the darkness, he couldn't see and he misaimed, instead stumbling past the taller man.

Crocodile latched onto his wrist with his hand, and Luffy felt cold steel wrap around his neck. Crocodile's hook. Luffy could feel smoke stinging his nostrils, making his eyes water even more than they were at the moment.

"Boy, watch your back. Because I have many people out there in the world, and they kill without my say so. You are a fugitive… child. And you will die a fugitive." and with that, Crocodile flung Luffy away from him so harshly, that the boy scraped his elbows and knees on the hard and rough concrete. Quick, clipping steps faded into the distance, and Luffy lay there, tears falling down his cheeks as his hat fell off his head and onto the concrete, rolling around before settling into one spot and becoming still.

The world around him was silent, except for the short 'tap' of rain hitting the road beside him. Luffy's eyes were wide, his breath coming in deep, heavy gasps that make his chest heave. He wanted to throw up, he wanted to hurt something. He wanted to do anything at all! Zoro heard the conversation from behind his bush and he didn't bother to move to see if Luffy was okay, just yet.

"Why will he die a fugitive?" he muttered. Luffy was pulled out of his reverie as rain began to hit his back a little harsher than it had been doing. He looked up at the sky above him before dragging himself to his feet, brushing off Hat and then placing it back on his head. His elbows throbbed with a dull ache and his knees were dripping blood down his legs, but Luffy paid them no heed.

He made his way silently, back towards the house that had been his home. He would have to leave now. He couldn't stay here, and after all, he didn't belong anyway. Zoro saw Luffy's outline in the rain and he stood up slowly, so as to not startle Luffy. His heart gave a rather unpleasant twinge at the sight of Luffy, and he couldn't help but mutter,

"Poor kid." before moving towards the boy.

"I can't stay here anymore…" Zoro heard Luffy whisper as the boy approached. Luffy's fists were tightened into small curls and his shoulders were tense.

"Why?" Zoro asked. Luffy's eyes rolled up towards him slowly and then the boy visibly relaxed, as water dripped from his hat.

"Zoro?" he asked. Luffy's voice seemed rather dead and it certainly wasn't full of the life it usually possessed, "For how long, have you been listening?" Zoro shrugged.

"Long enough." he replied. Luffy's eyes fell from Zoro's and they gazed back at the ground again.

"I'm sorry." he muttered quietly. Zoro shook his head, water going every direction, even though it couldn't be seen under the downpour they were standing in. Somewhere beside them, a frog had started croaking loudly, and a cat was hissing from up a tree.

"Why should you be sorry?" Zoro asked, gazing at Luffy with a slightly annoyed expression. Luffy always felt that things were his fault in situations that were not his fault at all. But when something _was _Luffy's fault, he was adamant that it wasn't. What a backwards kid this was.

"I'm sorry for being here. I shouldn't have stayed as long as I did, but, I was having fun." and Luffy was overtaken by a look of pure guilt. Zoro frowned.

"You're entitled to live a life Luffy." he replied. Luffy didn't respond to the statement. Instead, he asked something else.

"The one who killed your friend… it was Crocodile, wasn't it?" Luffy asked, but it was plain from his tone that he already knew the answer. He sighed. Zoro sighed as well.

"I don't know. I was young when it happened, and I only saw a flash of what he looked like, but, I guess after tonight. Well, I'm pretty certain it was him." Zoro looked down at Luffy and then laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, water dripping into his eyes as he did so. Luffy looked up at him, his dark eyes full of a fire and determination that almost made Zoro step back.

"I'm gonna kick his ass once more." he growled, "And this time, he's not coming back. I swear." Zoro nodded.

"I'm going to help." and he frowned deeply, "he's killed Kuina… he's hurt my best friend." here he paused to look down at Luffy sadly before his eyes hardened again, "He's not getting away with that." and he pulled his hand from Luffy's shoulder and held it up, palm facing towards the boy. Luffy frowned but reached out his own hand and did the high five.

"Alright…" he muttered. Zoro shivered involuntarily in the rain.

"Good. Now, let's get inside before we get a damn cold. It's freezing out here!" but before they moved towards the house, Zoro paused and glared at Luffy darkly, "And if you run off in the middle of the night, err, morning, then I'll hunt you down myself. Got it kid?" Luffy sighed and rolled his eyes a little but smirked at his friend.

"Okay Zoro." he replied before grabbing onto Zoro's arm and clutching it tightly to his chest. Zoro sighed and rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to push Luffy away. The boy had had enough cruelty for one night.

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**Oh no. Another short chapter. I'm sorry guys. But, Shiru and I promise that we will make sure that there is a longer chapter next time. Okay? -ducks out of the way as random tomatoes are thrown at her- eep!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Errm... well, -looks around nervously- I'M SORRY! I was really really lazy, and I didn't mean to make you all wait and I had a lot of work to do and stories to type for other people who are more... violent in real life than people over the internet and and and -gasps for breath- Sorry!!! -bows repeatedly- Here's the chapter though! **

**-----------**

_**Chapter 12**_

Rain was pouring heavily by the time the two had gotten back inside. Lightning was flashing through the windows and thunder crackled on every other strike. Zoro shoved the door open and moved inside, Luffy following him and shaking his head to get rid of the water that had been dripping into his eyes. Zoro brushed a hand through his own hair before closing the door behind them. Luffy sat down and began taking off his shoes and Zoro looked down and put his hands on his hips.

"So… what's the deal?" he asked. Luffy blinked in a confused way before turning to look up at Zoro.

"Huh? What deal?" he inquired, unsure of what Zoro was talking about. Zoro sighed and moved towards the kitchen, wringing out his shirt as he did so.

"Crocodile." he replied. Luffy growled at the name and then sighed as he got up to follow.

"It's nothing…" the boy muttered as he took a seat and crossed his arms on the table. Zoro raised an eyebrow as he made for the fridge. He glanced sideways as a particularly violent strike of lightning flashed outside.

"Didn't look like nothing." he said in an undertone. Luffy glanced up at his friend, before also glancing out the window.

"It's a long story…"

"Well… don't know about you, but, I'm not tired." Zoro said, looking pointedly over his shoulder at Luffy. The boy averted his eyes and kept his face impassive. Zoro groaned inwardly at this. Luffy wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"…I'm not tired." Luffy responded, leaning back in his chair and twiddling his thumbs before letting his hands rest in his lap. Zoro turned back to the fridge and pulled out two cans of coke. Placing them in one hand, he closed the door and moved over to the table. He sat down and held out one of the cans towards Luffy.

"Wanna talk?" he asked. Luffy blinked at the can for a minute before slowly reaching out a hand and taking it.

"Thanks Zoro." he muttered as he pulled the top open and took a deep sip. It was cold and it made Luffy shiver but he grinned. Zoro could tell it was strained. Luffy gulped down another sip and then looked up at Zoro.

"Crocodile likes weapons. I don't know everything, my brother told me. But he said that Crocodile wanted this company thing." he said. Zoro nodded.

"Baroque works, or something like that wasn't it?" he asked. Luffy nodded in reply, swirling the contents of the can around idly as he stared determinedly at the table top.

"To get it, he hurt many people who stopped him from getting the company."

"Yeah…Kuina." Zoro muttered, wrapping his hands around the can and squeezing it so the tin crumpled slightly before letting it go. Luffy looked up at Zoro, and how the older man's expression was half hidden in the dark.

"I'm sorry… he hurt my friends too." he muttered. Zoro looked up at Luffy, his face expressionless.

"He hurt everyone." and he went silent, waiting patiently for Luffy to continue. Luffy nodded, moving to take another sip of his drink before he paused and put it back down.

"He killed Makino. She was like a mother to me when I was little. I can't remember my real parents…" and he trailed off, "So, I went and beat him up…"

"Heh, he deserved it. Still does." Zoro snorted, draining the can in his hand before standing and moving to the fridge for another one. Luffy nodded in agreement as thunder rumbled outside, weakening as the storm moved on.

"Yeah. He got a hold of Shanks, and tortured him. Shanks gave up his arm for me. Ace told me it was because he was looking out for the people he cared for so they wouldn't get hurt…" and Luffy sighed, "I never asked him to though. He just… did." Luffy shrugged. Zoro watched his young friend, acutely aware of the pain in the back of his throat as he tried to stop himself from crying. Not just for Kuina's death, but for Luffy.

The boy had been through so much, and Zoro had been so mean when they had first met. Why hadn't he been nicer? Why hadn't he just said 'screw you' to his pride and taken a chance. If he had been nicer to Luffy sooner, maybe… maybe the boy wouldn't be so scarred inside. What Crocodile had done to this boy had been inhuman and was worthy of Zoro's most blood-lusting hatred. In an attempt to try and make Luffy feel better, he spoke,

"Luffy… how do you know Ace is dead? Crocodile could have just been saying that…" he said, sitting back down in his chair again. Luffy's gaze snapped up to lock with Zoro's.

"You're right! But… Ace used to visit me every weekend. He hasn't visited me in ages…" and he trailed off again. Luffy was doing that more and more as the night wore on. A weak flash of lightning illuminated a spider in the window. Even it seemed intent on listening to Luffy's story, as it balanced on the smooth surface of the window. Zoro sighed.

"Does he know where you are?" he asked. Luffy blinked.

"Uh… no… he doesn't know I'm living with you guys." and he laughed nervously. Zoro shook his head and sighed again.

"Well… that could be why he hasn't visited. Don't you think?" and he raised an eyebrow at the boy. Luffy grinned brightly.

"Yeah!" and he sounded so full of hope, that Zoro had to congratulate himself. Usually, he didn't like raising peoples hopes like this… but Luffy, he felt so different with Luffy. He wanted to make him feel like nothing was wrong in the world. Nothing was going to hurt him.

And he half hated, half liked it. He didn't like it because it made him seem soft and mushy. And those were things he tried to avoid. But… he liked it because for some bizarre and unknown reason, it made him feel… what was the word? Complete. Yeah, that fitted. Zoro nodded.

"So, is that all? Nothing else happened?" he asked. Luffy still hadn't mentioned anything about his water fear.

"Well… he kinda tried to drown me once." he replied, mumbling his answer towards the floor. Zoro blinked and then understood.

"So that's why you hate water then." he muttered. Luffy looked up at Zoro desperately.

"Water is creepy!" he cried. Zoro nodded.

"Yeah. But, that's not what we're talking about now. Ok? So, there's nothing else Crocodile did?" Zoro asked. Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"Other than stalking me and trying to kill my friends, no." the boy replied, sarcasm ringing in his voice. Zoro chuckled softly, having not ever heard that sarcasm before. It was a fresh change. Kinda cute too.

"But…Ace said that he wanted to join the weapon company thingy to make wars…" and Luffy looked desperately at Zoro. The swordsman sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, there's not much we can do about that. He can make up his own mind I imagine. But… we need to somehow find out what Crocodile is up to." Zoro replied and put a hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle a yawn.

"Why can't we just beat him up?" Luffy inquired, tilting his head to one side. Zoro shook his head.

"We could. But, he's a wealthy and well known man. If we just barge in and beat the crap out of him, we would be the ones in trouble." he replied, covering his mouth again. His eyelids felt like they were full of sand. Luffy didn't look so bright and awake as he had a few minutes ago either. Didn't coke have caffeine or something?

Wasn't that supposed to keep you awake? Well, if Zoro was a gauge, then that was probably a lie. Another weak flash of lightning, but no thunder followed. The storm was gone, and the night was still. Luffy, who had been thinking about the last statement, looked back up again.

"Huh… why?" he asked.

"He's a famous member of public! Beating him up will make us the criminals, not him! If he _does _have a plan." and Zoro rubbed a hand across his eyes to try and scrub away the sleep. Luffy brightened, blinking rapidly and waking up instantly.

"Ohhhhhhh… how're we gonna do that?"

"How the hell do I know!?" Zoro growled, irritability setting in. Luffy laughed and tilted his head.

"Don't know." he replied, _Zoro's so funny. _Luffy grinned. Zoro sighed deeply and yawned again, not even bothering to hide it behind his hand this time.

"Ha ha, Zoro's tired!" Luffy called. Zoro raised an eyebrow and yawned again.

"Come on, it's three in the morning. Let's just get to bed." and Zoro stood, downing the last of his second can of coke. He paused and looked at the can, and then at Luffy who was still wide awake.

_Maybe giving him coke wasn't such a good idea… _Zoro thought. Luffy pouted.

"But I'm not tired." he replied. Zoro sighed. How had he known Luffy would say that? Zoro shrugged.

"Suit yourself. But, if you want to kick Croc's butt, then you're going to need a good night's sleep." he said. Luffy frowned and then grinned.

"Okay Zoro!" and he jumped to his feet and punched his fists in the air, "I'm gonna kick his ass!" Zoro rolled his eyes and made for the stairs.

"Whatever." and he yawned as he moved up the suddenly very steep steps. He hadn't realized he was so damn tired. Vaguely, he heard Luffy climbing the stairs behind him and nattering on about how he was going to kick Croc's butt in twenty different ways.

Zoro had just reached his room, when Chopper ran out and past him, hyped up by the fact that it was night and the fresh and crisp air that was filtering through Zoro's half open window. He raised an eyebrow at the cat, shrugged and then moved into his room and collapsed on the bed. He was just drifting off when there was a quiet call of his name.

"What?" he mumbled into the pillow, face down on the bed.

"Sorry Zoro. Can I sleep in here?" Luffy's voice whispered. He was holding his hands in front of him, twisting them anxiously. Zoro grunted, meaning to say he didn't give a damn but, he was too tired to care. Luffy took it as a yes anyway and he ran in and dropped down beside Zoro's bed.

The swordsman turned his face towards the boy, and actually intended to say 'Don't you need a pillow and a blanket?' but instead it came out as,

"Doffd you feed a fillow and a fanket?"

"Huh?" Luffy asked, popping his head up, his hat already sitting on Zoro's bedside set of drawers.

"Pillow… blanket… you need?" Zoro mumbled, half asleep. Luffy tilted his head and looked at the floor.

"I used to sleep on the floor all the time. It's not that bad. Kinda cold, but that's okay." Luffy replied. Zoro groaned and reached down, grabbing the front of Luffy's shirt and pulling him up onto the bed.

"Shut up." he growled, "And go to sleep. I am too tired to care."

"Hee, sorry Zoro." and Luffy snuggled close, pushing his face into Zoro's chest as the swordsman pushed his back up against the wall. The boy shivered and Zoro reached blindly between them and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up and then throwing it over the two of them.

"Thanks Zoro." Luffy mumbled. Zoro grunted in reply.

---

Nami walked past Zoro's open door and paused. She blinked for a minute before looking back into the room. Her eyes went wide and she had to slap a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't burst into outright laughter.

"Good morning Nami-swaan! You certainly look lov-" and Nami slapped a hand over the cook's mouth. He blinked down at her and she pointed at Zoro's room. Sanji turned and looked in before a wide grin spread across his face.

"I knew it!" he whispered to her. Nami grinned back at him.

"What are you two up to so early in the morning?" a quiet voice said behind them. Both Sanji and Nami turned to see Usopp moving towards them, hands in his pockets.

"Look." the two said and stepped back so the smaller boy could see. Usopp poked his head in and then pulled it out again, raising an eyebrow at Nami.

"Do I have to pay now?" he asked. Nami smiled sweetly.

"You betcha." she replied. Usopp sighed and walked away.

"You two made a bet?" Sanji asked. Nami batted her eyelashes.

"Of course." and she chuckled as she made for the stairs, a lovestruck Sanji floating behind her. The sight the three had seen, was Luffy, curled up into a tight ball against Zoro's chest.

The swordsman had both arms wrapped tightly around the smaller boy and the two had sleepy smiles on their faces. It took two minutes for Nami to come running back up the stairs, a small digital camera in her hand.

"Oh the newspaper at school will pay big bucks for this." she muttered as she took a few snaps of Luffy and Zoro and ran back down the stairs again. Luffy was first to wake.

"Mng." he mumbled as he opened his eyes blearily and looked at the clock. Wasn't he supposed to go to school today? Blah, that was boring. Yesterday had been more fun. He yawned and snuggled back down again. Zoro groaned in his sleep and mumbled about something.

Luffy watched him for a moment, wondering what Zoro was talking about. Luffy's lips twisted in thought before he gently nudged the swordsman with his hand. Zoro's face twisted in sleepy discomfort.

"…Luffy…" he mumbled. Luffy paused, wondering if the older man was asleep. But he wasn't. Luffy grinned. Zoro was dreaming about him! He ever so gently nudged Zoro again.

"…Luffy, don't eat my meat…" Zoro mumbled. Luffy chuckled, placing a hand over his mouth.

"You don't have any meat." Luffy whispered. Zoro sighed deeply.

"Then stop eating my plate." This time, Luffy had to press both hands to his mouth to stop himself from waking the dreaming swordsman. Luffy's body continued shaking with silent laughter though.

"Stop moving ya little monkey." Zoro mumbled. Luffy paused and raised an eyebrow before poking Zoro in the stomach. The muscles contracted for a second before returning to normal.

"UP SHIT HEADS!" Sanji's voice yelled from the top of the stairs. Zoro woke with a startled yelp and Luffy yelped in fright. He hadn't expected Zoro to yell in such a startled manner.

"Luffy…?" Zoro asked, blinking down at the smaller boy. Luffy tilted his head.

"I came in here last night. Remember?" the boy asked. Zoro yawned and pulled his arms away from Luffy.

"Whatever." and he began to turn away. Luffy made a loud, annoyed sound. Zoro paused and looked down again.

"What was that?" he asked. Luffy grinned.

"Wanna stay close." and Luffy turned Zoro back to him and smooshed his face into the solid chest. Zoro sighed and tried to get comfortable without touching the boy too much, but he couldn't succeed and in the end, he wrapped his arms back around Luffy again. Actually, it really was quite comfortable lying like this.

He was just drifting off to sleep again when he felt a soft brush of air come through the door. Someone had come in. He drew his knees up just in time to avoid having both ankles broken by Sanji's heavy kick. Luffy squeaked.

"Up!" the chef growled, "You're not getting out of another day of school and to make sure, you and Luffy are coming in my car today."

"Fuck you, ya shitty bastard." Zoro returned. Sanji's anger flared. He slammed a leg down, but Zoro had moved both his and Luffy's heads before the steel-muscled body part hit the pillow and it burst into a million feathers.

Zoro was out of the bed and across the room, grabbing his swords and unsheathing them as he lifted them to their places. He turned back to see Sanji waiting, anticipation and thrill of the fight written all over the taller man's face. Luffy sat up on the bed and yawned, stretching his arms wide. He watched the two blearily.

"Shitty Christmas tree." Sanji growled.

"Sunny side up." Zoro returned.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means that your hair looks like the sunny side up of a goddamn egg."

"Marimo!"

"Princess!"

"Dickhead!"

"Fucktard!"

"Asshole!"

"Cheese head!"

"We're past the names, we're up to the swearing goddamnit!"

"Fuck you!"

"Rather not."

"Alright then, get fucked because sure as hell you aren't getting any right now."

"How the fuck do you know? Been perving on me or something?"

"Sick bastard!" and Zoro swung out his sword, managing to cut the bottom bit of the hair that fell across the chef's left eye and leaving a thin trail of red on Sanji's skin. That had been close.

"Watch what the hell you're doing with those things!" Sanji yelled, putting a hand to his face. Zoro raised an eyebrow and smiled devilishly.

"Why? Scared?"

"Hell no!"

"Then, let's go!"

"Enough!" Nami yelled, appearing from the doorway and knocking both men to the floor. Luffy laughed uproariously, rocking around on the bed and clapping his hands. Nami winked at the boy before grabbing the two stunned men and dragging them out, muttering about the inconsiderate male species.

Luffy sighed and stood, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes as he did so. He had only just gotten to sleep before the sun came up. All night, he had been thinking about what had happened at midnight. Crocodile's threat.

"_You are a fugitive… child. And you will die a fugitive." _he had said. Luffy didn't believe it, but… he did at the same time. He had been travelling for a while. Ace had always managed to find him. Why hadn't he found him yet? Was Crocodile right?

"Luffy?" Zoro called up to him. Luffy looked up at the door and fixed a smile on his face before bounding over to it.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"There's some weird guy here…" Zoro replied, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. Luffy tilted his head.

"What's it got to do with me?" he asked. Zoro shrugged.

"He says he knows you."

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**So, yeah. Not as long as it could have been, but Shiru and I haven't done much for a while. We've been a little busy, and tired, and sick, and everything. So, yeah. Hopefully we will get another update before next week. And giant Zoro plushies for those who can guess who the stranger is. he he he. -grins- Reviews please!! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Eh heh heh. -laughs nervously again before being stabbed, shot and buried- **

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_**Chapter 13**_

Luffy blinked for a second, before crouching down and peering at the door. A head tilted sideways, shirtless tanned chest familiar. Dark eyes. Freckles. Black hair.

"ACE!" Luffy practically screamed. He went to run down the stairs, but tripped halfway and landed face first on the floor. Zoro and Ace both winced. Ace sighed and shook his head. Zoro raised an eyebrow as Luffy jumped to his feet again.

"ACE!" he repeated and then launched himself at his older brother, clamping both arms and legs around Ace's torso. The older man laughed.

"Hey little bro!" Ace replied happily, "How ya been?" Luffy smiled brightly with big eyes, pulling his head back so he could look up at Ace.

"I knew you weren't dead!" Luffy cried. No one acknowledged the change of subject. Ace raised an eyebrow but smiled. Zoro smirked to himself in the background, and barely glanced sideways as Sanji sidled up beside him.

"Who the hell's this dude?" Sanji muttered to Zoro. Ace looked over and pulled out of his brother's grip. It wasn't easy either. The kid was practically glued to his older brother. Once Ace had managed to pry himself from Luffy's grip, he bowed politely.

"Portgas D Ace." he replied before glancing down at Luffy, "Of course I'm not dead. Who said I was?"

"Because! Because Crocodile said you were!" Luffy cried anxiously, his face turning from a grin to an anxious frown. The room was quiet as Luffy shifted uneasily, his gaze dropping to the floor. Sanji glanced at Zoro, who was frowning and watching Luffy and Ace carefully. Something was going on here.

Something… unusual, and Sanji was left out of the loop. That wasn't something he was liking, but, Sanji knew better than to push for information. It wasn't polite, and he had been taught manners while growing up. Ace blinked down at Luffy before a touch of anger came to his eyes.

"Crocodile was here?" he asked, a hint of danger tinging his voice. Luffy looked up, and then nodded slowly.

"Yeah. He was being a bastard again." the boy replied softly. Ace sighed and shook his head before smiling.

"He's like that." Luffy chuckled at this remark. The room went quiet once again, and Sanji sighed loudly before Zoro crossed his arms.

"So… why are you bleeding?" he asked. Ace looked down at himself, and Luffy's gaze followed his own.

"You're bleeding Ace?" and then full blown panic Luffy came into being. Eyes went wide, hands went to his head and he started crying out for a doctor. Zoro rolled his eyes and then shook his head, a smirk creeping onto his face as he did so. Nami walked into the room, a hand on her head. Headaches were common with Nami, especially since Luffy had come to live with them.

"What's up with all the commotion." She growled dangerously before pausing and raising an eye at the stranger. Ace, who hadn't noticed Nami as of yet, looked down at himself and blinked.

"Oh… that." and he laughed nervously, "That's nothing. Just a little fight." Sanji turned to Zoro with a raised eyebrow and a frown.

"A little fight." he commented. Zoro sighed.

"Just like his brother." he muttered. Ace had finally seemed to notice Nami, for he looked up at her and smiled in an absolutely charming way.

"Oh. There's more people here? Portgas D Ace, at your service." and he bowed. Nami smiled, feeling just a tad flustered, but not much. She had learnt to hide her feelings pretty well. Sanji scowled at Ace and crossed his arms indignantly. This guy dared to barge in here, and then flirt with his Nami-san! How dare he! Lips bordered on a pout, and Zoro looked at him before smirking himself.

"Very nice to meet you. D huh? You must be Luffy's brother then." Nami asked, moving over to get a good look at the newcomer. Sanji was scowling harder than ever, and Ace glanced at him before smirking lightly.

"Yeah. Luffy's big bro." and he latched onto the panicking boy's collar, and clapped him to his side. Luffy jerked in the grip, but then grinned. It was Zoro's turn to scowl this time and he turned away, a hint of jealousy making him even angrier at himself.

"Yeah yeah," he said, breaking up the conversation, "Just tell us why you're bleeding." Ace turned to Zoro and smirked.

"You're a little impatient, aren't you?" he asked, chuckling. Luffy grinned at Zoro, who 'hmphed' and waited for an answer. Ace looked down at Luffy, "I ran into number four." Luffy's eyes widened and he thought for a minute.

"Huh, number four?" and he thought for a moment, cradling his chin in his hand before looking up at Ace again, "That weird guy?" and he blinked, "So… Crocodile tried to kill you, but didn't! Ace is great!" and he grinned while hugging his brother again. Nami watched the two, shooting a sideways smirk at Zoro before humming thought.

"That wound needs to be taken care of." and she smirked evilly, "It won't be free though." Ace blinked and then rubbed the back of his head, knocking his cowboy hat back, and then smiling sheepishly.

"I uh… don't have any money." he replied. Zoro glared at Nami.

"Don't mind her, she's just being a bitch. You can go upstairs and clean up for free." Zoro explained. Sanji bristled at Zoro's attack on Nami.

"Don't call wonderful Nami-san a bitch you pathetic excuse for a Marimo!" he yelled. Zoro growled at him.

"Asshole!

"Bastard!" Ace watched them for a minute as they continued before smirking in amusement and then looking down at Luffy again.

"So… what else did Crocodile say? And where _can _I clean up?" he asked. Luffy hummed in thought for a second.

"Just that I had to look out or something." and his eyes were dark for a moment before he brightened, "Anyway! This way!" and he grabbed his brother by the arm and dragged him up the stairs towards the bathroom. Before they left, Ace vaguely saw Nami glare at the two fighting men, a tic going in her temple.

"ENOUGH!" she shouted and sent the two to the floor, lump forming rapidly on their heads. Zoro looked like a mix of anger and embarrassment, while Sanji was smiling goofily.

"Mellorine."

---

Luffy swung his legs back and forth from where he was sitting on the toilet, the lid closed beneath him as he watched Ace get cleaned up. Humming merrily for a while, Luffy finally came up with a question.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked. Ace blinked a moment, a cloth damp with blood in his hand, before he smiled.

"I always know where my little bro is. How do you think I found you when you kept running away all the time while we were kids?" Ace asked, grinning wryly. Luffy tilted his head and blinked.

"Na Ace, do you have magical powers?" he asked. Ace chuckled. Zoro stormed up the stairs outside, and the brothers looked to the wall as they heard Zoro muttering vehemently about 'shitty cooks' and 'bitchy women'. Once Zoro's little fit had died down, the two turned back to each other again. Ace leaned back against the basin and crossed his arms across his wounded chest. He shrugged.

"Maybe I do have magical powers… and maybe I don't." and he winked. Luffy giggled but then had to stifle a yawn. He actually swayed on the toilet and blinked.

"I'm tired." he muttered. A flash of worry crossed Ace's face.

"Maybe you should sleep?" he asked. Luffy brightened considerably and shook his head.

"Nope! I'm hungry! I wanna eat first!" he replied. Zoro appeared in the doorway, a hand scratching at the top of his head.

"Find everything all right?" he asked, and began to move into the bathroom. Ace smiled.

"Yeah thanks." and then he nodded at Luffy, "Well then, let's eat!" Luffy jumped from the toilet.

"Yatta!" he cried, "C'mon Zoro!" and he grabbed the green haired man's arm and bounced out of the room, Zoro being dragged along like a bizarre rag doll. Ace blinked for a moment before smiling. Luffy obviously had found a friend for once. And from the sounds of it, Zoro had become quite attached to Luffy as well.

He really hoped that they didn't have to be separated like he always had been from Luffy. It really was not a good way to live. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Ace wandered out of the room. Luffy raced down the stairs again, for the first time since he had been there, not stumbling. Zoro was kinda thankful for that, as Luffy's arm was still intertwined with his. Crashing down the stairs and possibly breaking his collar bone, was not something that was at the top of his list right now.

"Sanjiii!!! FOOD!!!" the boy cried, releasing Zoro in favour of crashing into the kitchen. Zoro winced, before shaking his head and following casually. Luffy wobbled slightly as he reached the kitchen and he blinked dizzily before shaking it off in favour of yodelling another 'FOOD!' towards the chef. Startled by Luffy's sudden appearance, Sanji reeled back.

"Whoa! Holy shit kid!" he yelled. Luffy grinned, leaning against the bench top.

"Food Sanji! Food!" and he put on his biggest, brightest and most moist puppy dog eyes. Yeah, Luffy had been practising this technique for a long time. Zoro, being an idiot, walked into the room and smirked.

"Luffy!" he yelled and the boy turned, "Sanji is not food." and he smirked as he slouched into a chair. Luffy's lips twisted and then he poked his tongue out at Zoro before turning back to Sanji and pulling his puppy eyes again.

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Sanji muttered as he turned towards the cupboard. Luffy grinned widely and bounced over to the table before sitting down next to Zoro. The practising swordsman yawned widely and scratched at his chest as he watched a fly buzz around the room. He could almost feel Luffy's tension building beside him.

_3... 2... 1...-_

"Is it ready yet?" Luffy asked. Zoro snorted and put a hand over his face. He had called it! Sanji sighed angrily.

"No! Ya little crap kid." he growled, having not even reached the cupboard. Luffy frowned, pouting at the same time as he crossed his arms on the table. He was feeling a little dizzy again, and he didn't like it. He had been feeling like this for a while, but hadn't done anything about it. Thinking he was just tired, Luffy had put it off. He also didn't want to worry anyone. Putting his problems on other people, wasn't Luffy's way.

Zoro sighed deeply beside him and Luffy found his attention wandering badly. When Ace finally wandered in (being in a new house, he had lost his way and accidentally wandered into an orange room, which was Nami's room but, Ace didn't know that), Luffy was falling asleep at the table, his head lolling forward. Ace sat down on his little brother's other side, and then Usopp also wandered in, voicing what everyone else had been wondering.

"What's wrong with Luffy?" he asked. Ace shrugged.

"I'm no expert, but, I think he has a cold." and he smiled at Usopp. The liar watched Ace cautiously, also backing away from Luffy at the same time, not wanting to catch whatever Luffy had. Zoro frowned.

"Stupid Crocodile." he muttered under his breath so no one else would hear. Ace did though, and he glanced at Zoro with a curious expression, but the green haired male was intent on glaring at the doorway. Meanwhile, Luffy was snoozing soundly on the table, but a cough woke him and he sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Naa…?" he noised, looking around. Zoro's face contorted with concern.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to school today?" he said. Sanji frowned.

"He's already missed one day of school, and _you _can't stay home if he does." and he glared at the practising swordsman. Ace watched the two carefully, sparks of electricity seemingly flying between the blonde and green haired men.

"I can stay with him." Ace interrupted. Sanji and Zoro turned away from each other in favour of looking to Ace. Zoro's look was slightly accusing, while Sanji's was interested. Luffy blinked.

"Do I get to stay home? Why?" he asked, tilting his head. Sanji sighed, returning to the breakfast he was making.

"You're sick." Zoro stated.

"…Why am I sick?" Luffy asked, not understanding. Who was sick? He couldn't be sick! He was never sick! Not Monkey D Luffy, healthiest boy alive. Ace shook his head, smirking.

"You're not sick then?" he asked, trying to get Luffy to realize that he did in fact have a cold. Luffy paused a moment, as if trying to figure out if he was sick or not.

"…I feel weird." he muttered, coughing slightly again.

"Yeah… sick." Zoro encouraged. Luffy's thoughtful face turned to horror.

"But I don't wanna be sick!!" he cried, startling the little group gathered around the table. Sanji rolled his eyes as he flipped a few pancakes without even watching them.

"You don't have a choice. If you're sick, you're sick. How'd you get like this anyway? What'd you do? Go out in the storm last night?" Sanji asked, meaning it as a joke. Luffy blinked and glanced at Zoro, who shrugged, and then he turned back to Sanji again.

"Yeah." he replied. Sanji blinked.

"WHAT!?" the chef yelled, frightening Chopper, who had been sitting on the windowsill. The cat jumped down and streaked out of the room, hissing at Sanji as he did so. Zoro glared at Sanji.

"He didn't mean to!" he growled. Luffy laughed at Sanji's reaction, but the laugh quickly turned into a coughing fit. Sanji, Zoro and Ace all let out a collective sigh. Nami chose that moment to walk back into the room, throwing an angry look at Ace (she had seen him walk into her room, but luckily she had been dressed at the time and just putting on a little bit of makeup).

"We'll be late for school if we don't leave soon guys." she commented. Sanji twirled on the spot.

"Of course Nami-san, and let me say that you look absolutely wonderful this morn-"

"Luffy's not going!" Zoro interrupted the chef. Sanji glared at him, but Nami took no notice as she eyed Luffy carefully. He really did look sick, the poor thing. She sighed and waved a hand vaguely in the air.

"Guess it can't be helped, eh?" she said. Luffy's head dropped forward, and he was asleep at the table once again. Zoro stood.

"I'm going to get dressed. Ace, look after Luffy, if you don't…" and he trailed off, glaring dangerously. Ace smirked.

"Hey, he's my brother. Of course I'm going to look after him." Ace replied, shrugging. Nami smirked in Zoro's direction.

"Someone is being overprotective." she commented. Usopp shivered, not liking the face Zoro was giving Ace.

"I am not! Get lost, bitch!" Zoro snarled and exited the room in a huff. Ace shuddered slightly, feeling just a little nervous about Zoro's glare.

"He's mildly insane, right?" he asked. Nami snickered.

"Yeah, you could say that." she replied. Sanji smirked.

"Breakfast is ready Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji cried.

"FOOD!" Luffy cried, shooting up like a bullet and then coming down on top of Sanji in a massive glomp. Nami rubbed her head as she watched them. Sanji frowned angrily, clenching a new but unlit cigarette between his teeth.

"Get offa me ya crap bastard!" he yelled, grabbing Luffy and pulling him off, surprisingly easily. Usopp blinked in shock.

"Wow… he really must be sick." he commented, resting his head on his hand. Sanji blinked down at the sickly child held in his grip before letting him go gently on the floor. Ace appeared behind Luffy without warning and latched onto his brother's collar.

"He really is sick. Come on Luf, upstairs and into bed." he said, dragging his brother away.

"Blaah!" Luffy cried, struggling weakly to get free, but, in his now weakened state, he couldn't have harmed a fluffy little kitten. Not that Luffy would usually, he was to kind for that. Zoro poked his head out of his room as Luffy was dragged past, wearing only a pair of black pants and no shirt. Luffy caught sight of a large scar before Zoro raised an arm and waved at him.

"Oh, hia Zoro!" and then he was being dragged towards his room, "Bye Zoro!" The swordsman smirked.

"Bye Luffy." he muttered before moving back into his room. He would have to make sure he visited the little guy before he left today.

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**Sorry about the wait everyone! I have been really lazy in typing this up. eheh -laughs nervously again-**


	14. Note!

_**!!Very Very Importante!!**_

**Plushie: Shiruji-chan and I really have to put this story on hold for a while. Our chapters are short, we are finding it really quite hard to rp, please do not bite our heads off, because that would be quite rude. Especially when Shiru and I have put so much into it for you readers. Our inspiration is quite gone at the moment, and I apologise profusely for that, but, one day it will continue. I am once again exceedingly sorry for the delay in this story. **


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